As the strike enters its eight-day, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it will announce any change in its present resolve only after its National Executive Council (NEC) has duly considered any progress made so far.

The Chairman of ASUU, Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) Chapter, Dr. Felix Igwe, made this declaration in a Short Message service (SMS) sent to The Tide in Port Harcourt, Sunday.

According to him, “As a member of ASUU NEC, I’m not aware of any meeting called by the union.

However, some parents have expressed worries over Federal government and ASUU meeting that ended in deadlock.

Speaking to The Tide  a businessman, Mr. Durum Sunday Nnanna, said it is better for Federal government and ASUU to reach a compromise as soon as possible to enable the students go back to school.

Mr Nnanna cautioned that strike actions should not always arise before Federal government and ASUU can reach agreement to avoid violence and economic backwardness in the country.

Also speaking to our correspondent, a Secondary School teacher, Mrs Hannah Obiekwe, said a nation without human capital development could not flourish in a modern competitive economy.

She, however, advised government to treat members of ASUU with respect and dignity arguing that without them, our children and the nation would have no future.

“If the ASUU is asking for extension of retirement age of lecturers to 70 years, then government should look into that.

“Experience has shown that the more you teach, the more experience you gain and the society taps from this laudable experience of teachers”, she expressed.

A final year student of the Rivers State University of Science and technology, Ikenna George, said ASUU strike is usual and the students feel the impact more.

His words: “Although ASUU is right but strike is bad because it drags us back. We won’t finish when we should”.

He appealed to government to come to the aids of the students by fulfilling the promises reached with ASUU.

A fresh student of Engineering, Cletus Nwaka said although ASUU strike is in students’ favour, but expressed regrets that the strike resumed on that 5th December when lectures would have started in RSUST.

Against speculations that some universities were engaged in academic activities within this zone, a source at the St John’s Campus of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (UOE) debunked that.

A visit to both RSUST and UOE showed that classrooms were empty last Friday while the fresh students were involved in their 2011/2012 admission process via ICT centres on campus at RSUST.

A  student of Ebonyi State University who spoke to The Tide in Port Harcourt has appealed to the Federal Government and ASUU to take urgent measures towards resolution of the crisis.

Miss Queen Eziulo expressed regrets that the frequent strikes which often disrupt academic calendar had negative impact on the standard of education.

However, our correspondent recalls that the Federal government had appealed to ASUU to call off the strike.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, while briefing newsmen at the end of a meeting between federal government and ASUU which ended in deadlock noted: “I will still  insist and plead again that ASUU has to call off the strike.

“We have already agreed that we will continue to negotiate in terms of ensuring that all the issues at stake will have to be addressed”.

Prof. Rufa’i urged students to be patient and understand the situation in the country.

The Minister assured that the Federal Government was making effort to transform the country and was not pleased with the shortfalls in the Universities.

It would also be recalled that ASUU embarked on an indefinite strike on the 5th of December over the non-implementation of some aspects of its 2009 agreement with the Federal government.

Eunice Choko-Kayode