The Progressive Students Movement (PSM), pan-African students movement, has urged the National Assembly (NASS) to consider passing a bill barring public officials and their children from studying and receiving medicare abroad.
The President of PSM, Mr Bestman Okereafor, in a statement in Enugu on Wednesday, said that following the continuous ASUU strike as well as decay in the education and health sectors, there was a need for urgent reform.
According to Okereafor, NASS should pass a bill to prohibit and stop public office holders and their children from studying and receiving medical treatment abroad for attention to be paid to the sectors.
“It is disheartening that Nigerian universities have been shut for over five months as a result of the continuous ASUU strike.
“It is, however, disappointing and a complete mockery of Nigerians seeing on the media public office holders and their children studying and graduating in UK, USA, Canada among other countries with the same celebration in the media,” he said.
Okereafor urged the Federal Government to consider an immediate end to the ASUU strike, adding that PSM was persuading ASUU and other striking unions to consider returning to the negotiation table.
He noted that many public university students, who were supposed to be mobilised for their National Youth Service Corps, had their mobilisation truncated by the continuous strike.
“We commend Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for coming out in solidarity with students as parents even though it was long overdue.
“We have no doubt their solidarity will go a long way in further compelling the government on the need to do the needful without further delay,” he said. (NAN)