BREAKING NEWS, Education
–
The Academic Staff Union of Universities warns the Nigerian government not to violate the agreement both parties reached in 2009
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Aug 29, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT |
THE Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, is disappointed with the federal government for allegedly violating the agreements both parties reached in 2009, warning that its members were running out of patience. The union said Nigerian universities are sinking in serious financial crisis with budgetary allocation to education sector dropping from 11 percent in 2015 to a mere eight percent in 2016.
Biodun Ogunyemi, president, ASUU, described the current state of the nation’s universities as grave and depressing, and called for urgent efforts to rescue the situation. He accused the federal government of owing the union more than N128 billion almost three years after signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, in 2009.
He said government’s reluctance to implement the regime of allowances and other aspects of the 2009 agreement has provoked relentless agitation and called for decisive steps to douse the mounting tension in universities across the nation. “Out of the N30 billion disbursed in 2013, only about N13 billion went into part settlement of the claims of academic staff in the universities, leaving behind a huge amount to be settled by government.
“The inability of the government to honour and fully implement these aspects of the 2013 MoU is generating unprecedented level of agitations on our campuses. Our members are running out of patience. If their patience gets to the boiling point and they can no longer contain that, they will tell us what to do,” he said.
The ASUU president also decried the infrastructure decay in state universities in the country, which he said was part of the issues addressed in the 2009 federal government/ASUU agreement. He said some state governments that failed to fulfil their obligations towards existing universities went ahead to establish new ones.
Citing Edo, Ondo and Bayelsa States, as examples, Ogunyemi noted that one common thread in the so called world-class universities was their location in communities where the founding governors came from. The union urged the National Universities Commission, NUC, to stop licensing more state universities, especially, where a state is struggling to fund the existing ones.
Realnews investigations have shown that the ASUU/federal government agreement of 2009 includes funding requirements for revitalising the Nigerian Universities; federal government’s assistance to state universities; progressive increase of annual budgetary allocation of 26 percent to education from 2009 to 2020 fiscal years and amendment to the pension/retirement age of academics on professorial cadre from 65 to 70 years.
Others are establishment of pension fund administrator and governing council; transfer of federal government landed properties to universities as the setting-up of research and development units by companies operating in Nigeria; provision of adequate teaching and research equipment and payment of earned allowances of between N87 billion and N92 billion accumulated since 2009.
Critics of ASUU believed that other than demands for payment of the accumulated arrears of earned allowances and amendment to the pension/retirement age of academics on professorial cadre from 65 to 70 years, the union should advocate for total overhaul of the education system in the country.
As at December 2012, there are 37 federal, 37 state and 50 private universities in Nigeria bringing the total number of accredited universities to 124. Also, out of 97 polytechnics in the country, federal government has 36, States, 48 and private, 13. Out of 50 colleges of education in the country, federal government controls 17, States 30 and private, three, and out of 26 monotechnics existing in Nigeria, federal government has 22, states, two and private, two. This brings the total to 297 higher education colleges or degree awarding institutions in Nigeria.
|
Tags:
