By Godfrey AKON
Education Minister, Mallam Adamu Adamu, has constituted White Paper Drafting Panels for Tertiary Institutions across the country.
The constitution of the white paper drafting panels follows the receipt of reports of Visitation Panels to Tertiary Institutions in 2021.
According to a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Mr Ben Goong, ten White Paper Drafting Panels were constituted for 36 Universities, while six Panels were constituted for 25 Polytechnics, and 5 panels for 21 Colleges of Education.
Goong noted that one of the panels would draft a white paper for four inter-university centres, adding that the panels will be inaugurated in the coming days and have two weeks from the date of inauguration to submit their reports.
Meanwhile, the government has indicated that the move is to address one of the demands of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
ASUU had requested that the government release whitepapers on the reports of the visitation panels constituted by President Muhammadu Buhari in April 2021 to visit 88 tertiary institutions across the country.
The union lamented that many months after the submission of reports to the government it is yet to release the whitepapers.
While declaring its warning strike on Monday, ASUU demanded an immediate release of the whitepapers to address the lapses in the administration of federal universities.
The panels, which were constituted based on ASUU’s request, had submitted their reports to the education minister in August, 2021.
