President of Nigeria, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) on Thursday pleaded with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to consider the cry of students and call off the ongoing strike.

Making this known in a statement, Femi Adesina quoted Buhari as charging students in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions to exercise patience as the government strives to address the nagging issues in the nation’s university system within the ambit of the resources available. VANGUARD reports. Information Guide Nigeria

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He made the appeal at the 19th National Productivity Day and the conferment of the National Productivity Order of Merit Award (NPOM) on 48 eminent Nigerians and organisations in both the public and private sectors, for their high productivity, hardwork, and excellence.

President Buhari recalled that he had earlier directed the Chief of Staff, Hon. Ministers of Labour and Employment, Education, Finance, Budget, and National Planning to immediately bring all parties to the negotiation table to again critically look at the grey areas in the demands of ASUU and in fact, all other University-based labour unions.

On the theme of this year’s celebration ‘‘Achieving Higher Productivity through Improved Education System,’’ The President pledged that the Federal Government would continue to do everything possible to uplift the standard of the educational system in the country, adding that his administration recognised that the future of any nation is contingent on the standard of its educational system. jamb results

‘‘Therefore, if we desire to transform Nigeria into a competitive, strong, vibrant, productive and sustainable economy, improving our educational system should be accorded the highest priority.’’

‘‘Quality educational system is good not just for the national economy; it is also good for the citizens.

‘‘Ignoring the productivity dimension of education would endanger the prosperity of future generations, with widespread repercussions for poverty and social exclusion.

‘‘It will be difficult to improve our economic performance and overall productivity, without improving our educational system.

‘‘Government notes the emergency situation in our educational system with particular reference to the dearth of qualified and dedicated teachers to enhance the quality of teaching and learning at all levels of our educational system,’’ he said.

To address these challenges, President Buhari said his administration has reviewed the retirement age of teachers from 60 to 65 years, while years of service have now been moved from 35 to 40 years to encourage more graduates to join the teaching profession.