Unpaid Salaries Force Wesley Varsity to Close

The authorities of the Wesley University of Science and Technology, Ondo State, have sent students of the institution on a forced holiday following a strike embarked upon by lecturers of the school.

The university founded by the Methodist Church of Nigeria reportedly owes the lecturers 21 months salaries.

It was gathered that the lecturers’ strike had forced the university to postpone its second semester examinations.

Meanwhile, the authorities had directed the students to proceed on vacation on July 10, 2015.

A source in the university said the authorities took the decision to avoid the students’ demonstration.

The authorities, it was learnt, conveyed the news of the closure of the school to parents via text messages reportedly sent by the acting registrar of the school.

It read, “Our esteemed parents, we have some challenges with salaries and lecturers said they could not conduct exam until they were paid. Since it is dragging, we resolved that students should go home for safety. They’d be called back close to resumption for next semester to write the exam. Please, bear with us.”

However, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr. Samuel Akindele, who denied that the lecturers were on strike, admitted that the authorities owed the workers some salaries.

Akindele added that the students were on a two-week mid-semester break to enable the authorities to resolve the matter with the lecturers amicably.

He stated, “Lecturers are being owed for some months and the management has yet to release the money for their payment.

“The lecturers said without the payment, the exam could not hold and in order not to delay the students, especially those going for the Industrial Attachment, the authorities decided to give them the mid-semester break.”