ASUU Seeks Adequate Funding Of Universities For Quality Education

ASUU Seeks Adequate Funding Of Universities For Quality Education

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Abuja on Tuesday reiterated the need to adequately fund universities across the country.

Dr Nasir Fagge, President of ASUU, told reporters that lack of funds was reducing the quality of education in Nigeria.

Fagge, who took over from Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie as ASUU President early this month, said that setbacks recorded in Nigerian universities had continued to increase student’s migration to other countries.

He said the major problems faced by Nigerian universities were lack of research facilities and learning and teaching environment which, he said, were affecting the standard of education in the country.

According to Fagge, the situation of the universities has become so bad that students are constrained to study in unfavourable places.

“You will not be surprised to find about 12 people staying in one room instead of the usual four and you visit those hostels, you will feel ashamed.

“So, if we insist on adequate funding in the system, we are not out of place because as it is now, we have many students migrating to Ghana for education and we are spending a lot of money there.’’

Fagge said the union had forwarded a proposal to the Federal Government, requesting that the plight of Nigerian universities be looked into to attract students from African countries and beyond.

He said the revenue to be generated if the universities were made to compete internationally would be as much as what the country got from crude oil.

“But we are not taking it serious and that is exactly the problem.”

Fagge said that sending children abroad for further studies might not be the panacea for securing good education for them.

“I urged parents to look at it critically before talking such a decision. Yes, there are strikes in the country but then how do we address the problem of strikes.’’

He said for the education sector to do better, there must be collaboration between Nigerian universities and other universities internationally as exchange of ideas was critical to the sector.

He noted that Federal Government had started making moves to inject more funds into educational sector, adding that this was a welcome development.

“We want our representatives in government to do what is right, we are on our way to getting our educational system right.

“We should also have to ensure that our policy makers increase premium on education in such a way that our universities will compete effectively with other universities internationally.

“As it is now, it is like a one way traffic, intellectuals are moving out of Nigerian universities and contributing outside the country and we are not trying to encourage them to stay back or those outside to come back to contribute their quota.

“That is why we are also talking about condition of service in Nigeria university system.”

Fagge called for an education summit that would bring all stakeholders together to fashion out a way forward.

He also called on government to strictly adhere to all ASUU agreements, adding that implementing them was the only way to sustain good relationship between them.

ASUU Seeks Adequate Funding Of Universities For Quality Education