In what looks like expression of disappointment, the Academic Staff Union of Universities( ASUU), said the Federal Government’s decision to reduce allocation to the education sector from 11 per cent in 2015 to 8 per cent in 2016 was amazingly disturbing.
ASUU, which mainatined that, should that practice continue, they would be left with no option than to opine that the government is paying lip service towards reforming edcuation.
Speaking at a press conference, the union’s Sokoto zonal coordinator, Dr Lawal Argungu, said lack of prosper funding was responsible for low ranking of Nigerian universities.
“The way FGN treats the funding of education in this country makes it difficult for ASUU to believe the sincerity of the government in reforming the education sector in Nigeria.
‘’It is certainly quite possible for us to reposition our educational sector appropriately if we put our priorities right in this country, in spite of the apparent economic hardship.”
Argungu, insisted that despite over N1.3 trillion earmarked for the revitalization of the Nigerian Universities in 2013, there was still an arrears of N 605 billion.
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Decrying how such scenarios negatively affects our educational ranking, Dr. Argungu stressed that, it leads to serial inadequacies in the systems.
‘’The terrible decay, rot and huge inadequacy of training facilities in Nigerian Universities, is responsible for the inability of out of the over 100 Universities we have in this country,none can qualify to be among the best 1000 Universities in the world.
‘’It also explains why a good number of Nigerian graduates are not marketable in the critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.’’
Dr. Argungu submitted that, in 2009, ASUU/FGN entered into an agreement permitting ASUU to establish Nigerian University Pension Management Company( NUPEMCO).
He however lamented that, the issue of licensing the company since the signing of the agreement has been painfully dragging.
Argungu argued that both the federal and some state government have unilaterally created shortfalls in the emoluments of workers.
This according to him were in terms of arrears of salaries, excess workload allowances, earned academic allowances and general funding.
He made reference to Kebbi State government handling of its Science and Technology University in Aliero as a case study.
