ASUU urges members to reject Kano State University’s new governing document

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST) in Wudil has condemned what it calls an unlawful review of the university’s governing document and the attempt to impose it on staff.

The union rejected the documents in their entirety, arguing that the university administration failed to follow the procedures required for amending the document, as set out in Section 21 of the KUST Amendment Law 2017.

In a communiqué issued on Monday after a meeting, the chairman and secretary of KUST ASUU, Dr Aliyu Yusuf Ahmad and Dr Abubakar Ibrahim Tukur, instructed members to refrain from recognising or using any of the new documents.

They also requested that the National Executive Council of ASUU approve a policy of active non‑compliance until the university administration resolves the issue and addresses other demands of the branch.

Chairman Ahmad said the union has consistently worked to maintain industrial harmony and academic stability at the university, a position he believes has been reinforced by the Kano State government’s efforts to improve staff welfare and promote higher education in the state.

“Congress observed with dismay the action of the University Administration to impose the new governing documents on members that are harmful and injurious to the development of the University,” he said.

The union alleged that “the documents were mischievously approved without duly engaging stakeholders and without following due process laid down by Section 21 of the Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST) Amendment Law 2017 and other local and international labour laws and conventions.”

Congress further noted: “The University Governing Council that approved the new document was not properly constituted in accordance with Statute 5, Section 1 of the KUST Amendment Law 2017, because the University Administration failed to summon a Senate meeting for the election of a Senate representative to the Council.”

“This is in addition to other flagrant violations of the provisions of the University Law, such as refusal to release an audited account of the University for over three years, failure to hold regular statutory meetings such as the University Senate and Budget Monitoring Committee, among others too numerous to mention,” the Congress alleged.