Sequel to a long restructuring process, the American University of
Nigeria (AUN), Yola, Adamawa, has disengaged the services of about 400
of its staff.
Prof. Abba Tahir, the Vice President for University Relations, AUN, made
the disclosure in a statement made available to newsmen in Yola on
Tuesday.
Tahir said that majority of the affected personnel were those that had
no significant developmental effect on the philosophy of the university.
“Certain structural elements have been initiated by the new Governing
Council of American University of Nigeria (AUN), in response to NUC
requirements, mandating the institution to align with an approved
governance structure for all tertiary institutions in the country.
”Until now, AUN has operated a student-staff ratio which balance had
continued to affect the sustainability of the university.
”This is clearly an uncommon and hardly workable tradition in all
institutions and organisations around the world. Obviously it is
unattainable.
”Thus, consequent upon the university’s new governing council vote to
restructure the institution in line with its agenda for sustainability,
a process of workforce rationalisation has been in the pipeline.
”It is now time for the university to look back, look around and look
ahead, to ensure that realistic and globally competitive administrative
practices can be achieved in structure, strategy and focus.
“It would not be realistic for AUN to continue to anchor its
administrative structure on an over-bloated personnel whose role do not
have significant effect on the philosophy of a development university,”
he said.
The vice president for university relaions further stated that in the
emerging sustainable structure, competitive personnel were retained,
while others were disengaged honourably.
He said that all those affected were paid all their contractual benefits
at the point of clearance, to continue with their lives somewhere else.
Tahir said that as a typical American style institution, AUN
deliberately trained its students to search for sustainable solutions to
human development challenges.
”Students are deliberately armed with lifelong skills and competencies
to develop sustainable solutions to the myriad of challenges faced by
society.
”The challenges posed by the unsustainable redundancies in AUN’s
operational structure for the university is one that needed to be
addressed ever since,” Tahir said.