The Academic Staff Union of Universities has raised the alarm over the Federal Government’s failure to release the sum of N1.3tr meant for the revitalisation of the nation’s universities.

The Federal Government agreed to release the amount meant for the institutions over a period of five years, with the first disbursement being N200bn in 2013, while N220b was agreed to be released in each of the four remaining years. The agreement led to ASUU’s suspension of its last strike in December 2013.

Chairman of the University of Ibadan chapter of the union, Prof. Segun Ajiboye, made the disclosure in Ibadan during the University of Ibadan 63rd Post-Graduate School Interdisciplinary Discourse, held on Saturday.

Ajiboye said,“An expression of the lack of integrity is failure to keep a promise made in public. For example, the Federal Government has failed to release the promised sum of N1.3tr National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy’s intervention fund beyond the 200bn released for 2013. Since the release of the first batch of the money, no money was released in 2014 while a quarter of 2015 has passed with nothing from the government.”

He added that the lack of integrity on the part of the government and its officials led to the 19 strikes which the union had embarked upon between 1992 and 2013.

National President of ASUU, Dr. Nasir Fagge, who was represented at the event by his deputy, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, said that the major reason for going on frequent strike in 21 years was because government failed to honour the agreements it freely signed with the union.

Comparing university community to a microcosm of the larger Nigerian society, Fagge said that poor government policies were responsible for Nigerian universities’ graduation of poor leaders who lacked empathy and connection with current realities due to the irrelevant curriculum they were made to study. Fagge spoke on the topic, ‘ASUU struggles and the revitilisation of public university education in Nigeria’.



http://www.punchng.com/news/ASUU-condemns-fgs-failure-to-release-n1-3tr/

If we aren't stupid,why can't a nation of over 178 million Nigerians collectively demand our educational sector be revamped?
And these so called leaders send their own wards abroad to receive the best of the best.
Nigerians which way?

CHANGE is urgently needed in this country, imagine a whole Akpabio collapsing and being rushed to the UK for treatment, that shows the sorry state of our health sector and the nation in general. I thought the PDP led government had built standard hospitals, why do they need foreign medical attention

jaysniggs:
If we aren't stupid,why can't a nation of over 178 million Nigerians collectively demand our educational sector be revamped?
And these so called leaders send their own wards abroad to receive the best of the best.
Nigerians which way?

efilefun:
CHANGE is urgently needed in this country, imagine a whole Akpabio collapsing and being rushed to the UK for treatment, that shows the sorry state of our health sector and the nation in general. I thought the PDP led government had built standard hospitals, why do they need foreign medical attention

I can't help but wonder!
Upon these basic needs a sane and reasonable society is built yet its obviously absent in our soceity yet some people are still yearning for a PDP led government.
When are we going to wake up from our foolish and annoying slumber
When are we gonna see this isn't limited to tribe and religion?

Funding gaps affecting our old universities have not been fixed and yet the GEJ administration 'establishes' several new universities (and promotes them as achievements). How will these new universities be funded if the old ones are grappling with serious financial challenges? How?

The GEJ administration has not been honest with Nigerians. I repeat, how will these new universities be funded in a sustainable manner? New universities in our system here bleed cash until they can attempt to stand on their own - a process that takes years. And with the severe funding constraints that the FG claims it is facing, the best and most prudent decision is to set up a litter of universities all in one go?

It costs money to run universities. It costs money to ensure course accreditation. It costs money to employ and retain qualified staff. It costs money to pay external examiners. It costs money to pay for journal and periodical subscriptions. It costs money to convene meetings of university governing boards and councils. It costs money to build research labs. It costs money to build and run university infrastructure. It costs money to run staff and student exchange programs. It costs money to keep a university running on a day to day basis. If previous governments (and the current one) have not kept faith with funding agreements earlier signed, what hope is there for these new universities?

There are some university undergraduates (penultimate year students) in Nigeria today who are in serious trouble today because their courses have not met NUC accreditation criteria. These students have effectively spent 3 to 4 years on an extended vacation masquerading as university education. And there is nothing that they can do about it - the NUC has refused to budge and the affected universities can only offer ineffectual apologies for their failure to meet their responsibilities to their students. With challenges of this nature, is establishing a crop of new universities (without guaranteeing their funding and effective monitoring) the best and wisest decision?

We have made our bed and we must lie on it. For ages some of us have shouted ourselves hoarse about holding leadership accountable - but Nigerians turned a deaf ear. Now we are paying the price - all the key segments of our national life are experiencing some form of serious deterioration or another.

You get what you pay for.

I wonder when Nigerians would brace up,and demand their right from the so called leaders...

If the countries the wealthy ones send their kids to,have same bad policies about education like ours,where will they send the kids to?

Education is a reflection of the society..

A country that takes its education policy with levity is heading for doom..

We want change.

Very bad of the government.

Meanwhile, GEJ is busing doling out billions to AIT, Monarchs in SW and Anti-Nigerian groups(OPC and MEND).

Indeed we've got a clueless being as president. Deceiving Nigerian with so called 10 new universities

I just wish some of this pro PDP supporters can leave the shores of Nigeria and see what is being enjoyed by countries that shouldn't be even mentioned when Nigeria is being talked about... but our useless corrupt and self-centered politicians ridiculed the nation already.

jaysniggs:




I can't help but wonder!
Upon these basic needs a sane and reasonable society is built yet its obviously absent in our soceity yet some people are still yearning for a PDP led government.
When are we going to wake up from our foolish and annoying slumber
When are we gonna see this isn't limited to tribe and religion?

ASUU - unresolved
Polytechnics - unresolved
Doctors and Health workers - unresolved
Teachers - unresolved
Pension - unresolved
Subsidy - unresolved
Immigration Job - unresolved
NNPC Loots - unresolved

Jonathan must go! Another 4yrs of sweeping things under the carpet is unacceptable.

Just here to read the silly comments by the PDP illiterate agents...

Make dem unban barcanista sef...