Education minister vows to adhere with presidential directives on IPPIS

The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, has promised to comply with the presidential directives regarding the exclusion of university lecturers from the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS).

This scheme, initiated in October 2006 aims to eliminate fraudulent payment records within the civil service payroll system.

The Minister made this commitment in Abuja when he met with the leadership of the committee of Provost of Colleges of Education in Nigeria.

According to a statement issued by the minister Director Press & Public Relation, Bem Goong on Monday, Tahir also promised a consistent and positive interface with the committee to ensure industrial peace and harmony in the Nation’s Colleges of Education.

Westernpost had reported last year that the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, after the conclusion of the Federal Executive Council meeting disclosed that President Bola Tinubu approved” the stoppage of IPPIS used to pay salaries of university lecturers.

He explained that going forward, tertiary institutions, the polytechnics and colleges of education lecturers would henceforth be taken off the IPPIS.
In the past, there had been wide outcry especially from the lecturers union ASUU, which had rejected the federal government’s directive for workers to enroll in the centralised payroll system, saying it would affect the autonomy of universities.

Therefore, the union instead proposed the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) “to address the peculiar cases of lecturers in the payment of salaries and other emoluments”.
Speaking on the level of implementation, the Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Tanko Sununu admonished the positive attitude of the leadership of the Colleges of Education, adding that the Ministry will reciprocate the gesture in order to ensure a harmonious working relationship between the Ministry and all Colleges of Education Nationwide.

Sununu called on the Leadership of the Colleges of Education and relevant stakeholders to close ranks with the Ministry to ensure improved enrolment of students into the Colleges in order to guarantee steady supply of qualified teachers at the Basic level of our Educational system.

The Minister added that the Ministry will continue to work hard to create incentives for teachers as well as mobilize enrolment into the Colleges of Education.

Speaking earlier, Chairman of the committee of all provosts of Colleges of Education Nationwide, Faruk Haruna and the Chairman of the Committee of Provosts of Federal Colleges of Education Dr. Ali Adamu were unanimous in appealing to the Ministers to facilitate the implementation of the presidential directive to take Colleges of Education out of the IPPIS.