The group called on both the federal and state governments to improve on funding universities and enhance the welfare of the university staffers.
The Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned Universities (COPSUN) has cautioned state governments against the proliferation of universities.
The call is in line with the demand by the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has consistently blamed the governments at both the federal and state levels for establishing new universities while the existing ones remain unfunded.
But the pro-chancellors who are chairmen of governing councils of the state-owned universities have applauded the decision by the Nigerian government to stick to its "no work, no pay' policy against the university workers' unions.
The group said the decision will significantly address the challenge posed by the frequent shutdown of the university system by protesting workers.
COPSUN made this position in a communique issued at the end of its 57th Quarterly Meeting that was held at the Committee of Vice-Chancellor's Conference Centre, Abuja, on Wednesday.
The communique was signed by the committee's Secretary, Marcus Awobifa.
On proliferation of universities
The group called on both the federal and state governments to improve on funding universities and enhance the welfare of the university staffers.
The meeting, according to the communique, was to review the state of the nation, and "particularly the ongoing ASUU indefinite strike action."
While calling on the government to increase the budgetary allocation for education, COPSUN also appealed to political parties jostling for power to initiate innovative reforms in the education sector in their manifestos to part ways with the persistent crisis in the sector.
"To maintain international best practices and be recognised among first rated Universities, the governments at Federal and State levels should improve on the funding of their universities and enhance the welfare of the workforce, adding that state governments should exercise restraint in establishing new universities but invest heavily on the existing ones to improve on the quality of their infrastructure," the statement reads in part.
ASUU strike
While COPSUN backed some of the demands of the ASUU, it knocked the union for not backing down on its resolve to continue with the strike until the demands are fully met.
"The Pro-Chancellors believed that the damage caused by the disruption in the university system cannot be rebuilt by the reform being sought by the association," it said.
COPSUN said it has always supported the call for reform in the education sector, but that the ongoing strike by the lecturers' union has been unnecessarily prolonged and has become 'obsolete.'
It said "ASUU cannot continue to apply the same strategy and expect a different result."
The group also said the university system has lost over 50 months to strikes since 1999, "resulting in elongated academic calendars with the nation paying heavy price, as the students, parents and the university workforce have been put in perpetual position to miss and lose many life opportunities."
It, however, said it is relieved that the Federal Government agrees that state universities can adopt or reject agreements reached with ASUU by the Federal Government.
It said: "COPSUN however reiterated that it would not be coerced to adopt hook, line and sinker any agreement to which it was not apartyabinitio. It pledged that State-owned universities will continue to negotiate with their employees in accordance with the terms and conditions of their engagements.
'No Work No Pay'
The Committee also appealed to the Nigerian government not to back down on its decision to enforce the 'no work, no pay' policy with ASUU.
It said the failure to apply the rule in the past has "led to impunity in our society."
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It said: "The lecturers that abandoned classes for almost an academic session are clamouring for salaries they did not work for, the Pro-Chancellors called on the Federal Government to be courageous to enforce the extant rule on "no work no pay" as failure to apply rules in the past led to impunity in our society."
Backstory
ASUU had on 29 August extended its strike indefinitely, rejecting the government's 'No Work, No Pay' policy. While the government is hellbent on not paying the salaries covering the period of the strike, ASUU insists it must be paid.
Last week, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, referred the matter to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Abuja. The matter was mentioned at the court on Monday and the case continues on Friday.
Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe
