February 21, (THEWILL) – The Academic Staff Union Of Universities (ASUU) has condemned the reckless manner in which public universities are established in the country without any template for funding.
The Calabar Zone of the Union made this known after its meeting at its Eskor Toyo Secretariat, University of Calabar.
Data from Statista indicates that there are presently 43 federal universities and 48 state universities in Nigeria.
Universities owned by the Federal Government may likely double in 2024, as a bill to establish 47 new federal universities scaled second reading in the House of Representatives last month.
Decrying the rising number of universities, which it called “crisis centres”, the Calabar Zone of ASUU, in a statement by its Zonal Chairperson, Happiness Uduk, said this is negatively impacting intervention funds.
Comrade Uduk called on the National Assembly to revisit the draft bill before it, which will adequately empower the National Universities Commission (NUC) to check the establishment of these universities.
“The last two industrial actions of the Union have without fail included the proliferation of universities, and an outcome was the review of the NUC Act, which would further empower it to checkmate excessive and unwarranted establishment of universities.
“A joint committee of NUC and ASUU was set up and a draft bill on that was submitted to the National Assembly.
“That bill has gone under with the outcome being the reckless manner in which politicians are establishing universities as if in a competition without any plans for their funding. This is impacting negatively on intervention funds, especially TETFund.
“ASUU calls on the National Assembly to speedily pass the bill into law to empower the NUC to adequately checkmate the spate of the proliferation of universities so as to avoid the establishment of crisis centres in the name of universities,” she said.
She insisted that the union will use all avenues available to it to resist the wanton and senseless proliferation of universities without checks.
The Zonal Chairperson also decried the high level of insensitivity and truancy in attending to its demands by the Federal Government and by extension, the basic needs of Nigerian students.
She said ASUU will be ready in the interest of the Nigerian University System to accept any options that would bring lasting solutions to issues without necessarily going on strike.
She added that the call has become imperative because the union has utilised every conceivable alternative to strike, including seeking an audience with the President of the country but all without any breakthrough.
She insisted that if the Nigerian public fails to provide the union with a viable alternative to strikes, industrial harmony in the nation’s public universities may be jeopardised.
Other signatories to the release by the Calabar Zone of ASUU included Comrade Chidi Mbah (Chairperson, ABSU), Comrade Inyang Udosen (Chairperson, AKSU), Comrade Ikechukwu Igwenyi (Chairperson, EBSU), Comrade Louis Omenyi (Chairperson, FUNAI), Comrade Patrick Ushie (Chairperson, CRUTECH), Comrade Peter Uni (Chairperson, UNICAL) and Comrade Opeyemi Olajide (Chairperson, UNIUYO).
About the Author
THEWILL Correspondent, Aniekan Bassey has over six years experience that spans across several fields in print journalism including development communication, sexual reproductive and health rights issues, crime, climate change, social justice, business and human interest stories.
