The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has appealed to the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to find common ground to prevent disruption in the academic calendar.

The NANS senate president, Henry Okunomo, stated at a news briefing on Sunday in Akure, urged the federal government to take immediate and decisive action to prevent disruption in the educational sector by preventing any strike.

“We are counting on the government to act decisively and with a sense of urgency to prevent the devastating impact of another strike,” said Mr Okunomo.

“We appeal to our lecturers to also embrace dialogue and shift ground where necessary to avoid collapse of the education system,” he added.

ASUU had issued a three-week ultimatum to the federal government over some outstanding demands.

Mr Okunomo urged President Bola Tinubu to allocate sufficient resources to the educational sector to improve infrastructure, provide necessary teaching aids, and ensure timely payment of salaries and benefits to lecturers.

He said establishing a continuous platform for dialogue between the government, university administrators and lecturers to address grievances before escalation was important to prevent academic disruption.

“We are all acutely aware of the recurring disruptions caused by strikes in our universities.

“These strikes, often due to unresolved issues between university lecturers and the government, have profound and far-reaching consequences on the educational journey of countless students.

“We, the students, are the primary stakeholders in this situation. Our voices, hopes, and futures hang in the balance,” said Mr Okunomo.

He concluded that it would be disastrous for university lecturers to shut down the universities with industrial action when the country is battling economic hardship.

(NAN)