hajia

Back in August last year I wrote a piece on the progress of buildings at Katsina State University (KSU). Well its more than six months now and things have improved in one area while deterioration is the word in others. The picture above shows the same Senate building that I captured last but looking almost complete now. There is a new vigour now and contractors handling all the different buildings are busy on site. Note however that there is no way the students can relocate to this permanent site this year.

However, in the academic front, there is tension between the mangement and the teaching staff and, if what I hear is true, a showdown is iminent. The lecturers are loudly demanding payment of promised salary increase but the school authorities are claiming there was no money. I beg your pardon? What hapened to the billions stashed as investments so as to provide a stream of income for the school? If I remember correctly we were told then that the school would never have a cash flow problem. But if it can not pay the salaries plus the arrears then it means only one thing: the school is broke. No more no less. And this begs the question as to what hapened to the billions earmarked for the school by Yardy? Why did the governing council of the school allow the matter to reach the level it has reached now? What prevented them from intimating Yardy if Shema refused to cooperate as it is been alledged?

All the above questions are relevant and would come to the fore if and when the University is closed as a result of a strike action. That time it will be on record that KSU is the first state university in the country to be closed on account of strike by agrieved lecturers. One step forward, you might say, but two steps backward after a while. Tsk, tsk, tsk.