By: Sonaike Peter
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) decried the poor state of Nigerian public universities on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.
According to a report by The Guardian newspaper, the union attributed the poor welfare of public universities to the “reluctance of qualified individuals to take up jobs in the university system.”
In a New Year’s correspondence with journalists in Ibadan, Professor Ayo Akinwole, Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan branch, stated that the dire situation was not unique to Nigerian public universities, but also affected primary schools across the country.
“The teachers are not well-paid, leading to the reluctance of qualified teachers to take up employment in public primary and secondary schools, paving the way for untrained and unqualified teachers to hold sway. The result of this has been the proliferation of private schools, most of which are out of the reach of the poor due to the exorbitant fees they charge,” Professor Akinwole.
Professor Akinwole further emphasized that the university system was plagued by stagnation in 2024. He attributed this to the federal government’s lukewarm response to the plight of university staff, noting that Nigerian public universities were only spared from a possible industrial crisis due to the sacrifices made by lecturers.
Professor Akinwole warned that Nigeria’s education system is on the verge of decline due to the 2025 budget allocation, which falls short of UNESCO’s recommendations. He expressed concerns that the allocation is not only insufficient but also contradicts UNESCO’s guidelines.
Despite acknowledging the federal government’s efforts in establishing a committee to renegotiate the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement, Professor Akinwole cautioned against relying on outdated statistics from previous administrations. This, he implied, would hinder accurate assessments and effective decision-making.
“To be sure, since 2017, various committees had been put in place by the government to renegotiate the agreement with ASUU. For instance, the Babalakin-led Joint Renegotiation Committee was set up, followed by Emeritus Professor Munzali Jubril-led Committee, and followed by the late Prof. Nimi Briggs-led Committee, which yielded a draft Agreement between the Committee and ASUU in 2021,” he added.
Professor Akinwole opposed President Tinubu’s proposal to scrap TETFUND under the administration’s tax bill. He cautioned that eliminating TETFUND would severely undermine the already limited infrastructural funding available to tertiary institutions, which the agency has been providing since its inception.
“This misbegotten policy will have huge and adverse implications for the university system in Nigeria. This is, no doubt, an attempt to destroy the major source of infrastructural funding for already struggling public tertiary institutions. It is also an attempt to commodify university education in Nigeria,” Professor Ayo Akinwole concluded.
Main Source: Guardian Newspaper
