By Suleiman ADAMU, Sokoto
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) contemplates fresh industrial action as last resort, raising the alarm that public universities are at the verge of total collapse with the mass exodus of over 309 Professors already in other African universities, blaming the situation on FG refusal to do the needful for ignoring the plight of public universities lecturers and the country’s educational system.
It said the union action remained the last resort in a bid to salvage the country’s public universities currently suffering inadequate funding to meet its primary demands and needs for academic stability.
” This has affected our needs assessment to be more competitive internally and we are here to protect the sanctity of the university system.”
The Zonal Chairman of the Union , Professor Abubakar Sabo declared at a stakeholders town hall meeting held weekend at the City Campus, UDUS, Sokoto where he noted that public universities were lacking in autonomy and necessary academic freedom to operate in line with the law and Act establishing them.
” This is a contravention and surely would consistently affect the quality of graduates from our public universities”, he said.
The Sokoto zone comprise universities from across Katsina, Kebbi and Zamfara states.
The meeting drew participation of lecturers, parents, CSO groups , NGOs , Educationists, Students among others.
Professor Sabo recalled that the 30% UNESCO standard of funding education was only attempted in 2011 since the struggle by the union in 2009.
” There has been less attention to implementation of agreements which resulted in no fewer than 15 strike actions before signing”, Dabo pointed out.
” We had to support our move by evolving a strategy that could assist the government to sustain the funding universities to enable the payment of N300bn while others were paid in installments of low trenches in 2011.
” We need proper and adequate funding to drive out projects outside the TETfund intervention initiatives
” Also, allowing the proliferation of universities like constituency projects is not healthy for existing ones and making teaching difficult as lecturers were overstretched. Instead, existing universities should have been properly funded and equipped not establishing new ones”, said the Zonal official of the union.
He explained that ” today we are the least paid compared to other African universities. All these issues and problems were not only ASUU concerns, as a union, we also consulted with eminent traditional rulers, critical stakeholders and respected personalities including religious leaders to wade into our struggle with the FG.”
The Chairman, UDUS branch of the union , Professor Nuraddeen Al-Mustapha said the town hall meeting was to further engage stakeholders to broadly participate in a robust discussion for more ideas , contributions and advise that would brace the union with realities as well the federal government to doing the right thing.
He observed that the system had been synonymous with strikes and closures which was not unavoidable.
He sated that there has been minimal progress on the growing issues and problems affecting public universities on the part of government.
Professor Al-Mustapha explained that ASUU was a legal platform that drove and advocated for welfare of its members.
” We are determined to strengthen all avenues to peacefully drive our demands through consultations and peaceful protest.
” We have been persistent in our engagement with prominent figures to safe the future of our education in Nigeria by ensuring that government realises it responsibility and act accordingly”, he said.
