The Bauchi zone of the Academic Staff Universities, ASUU has said Federal government is owing Nigerian universities the sum of 1.3 trillion naira infrastructural funds from 2013 till date.
Most Nigerian universities are currently suffering great infrastructural deficits, thereby preventing speedy and qualitative education.
The Bauchi zonal coordinator Prof Lawan Abubakar stated this in Jos, Plateau state, during a press conference held at the university of Jos ASUU Secretariat, on Thursday.
Prof Lawan also said the federal government was paying lip services to the plight of ASUU nationwide.
“ASUU is shocked at the lack of commitment displayed by government of the day towards the implementation of the 2017 MoA aimed at persuading the Union, then, to suspend the 2017 industrial action to date.”
Prof Lawan revealed that federal government intend to increase tuition fee for undergraduates in the Nigerian universities; the university Don revealed further that a representative of government has proposed the sum of 500,000 per a science student.
“A government representative on sharing of education cost proposed a minimum of 350,000 as tuition fee for undergraduate students of Arts and humanities and 500,000 for those in the science.”
The ASUU zonal coordinator said ASUU refused to be party to the proposed tuition fee increment.
“Our union rejected the proposal base on the fact that the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria clearly states that funding education is the sole responsibility of government at various levels and not parents.” ASUU insisted.
ASUU accuses states government of creating state universities and abandoning funding to the funding agencies.
“State governments across the country are establishing state universities and abandoning them to TETFUND.”
He equally revealed that state government owned universities are not living up to their responsibility of paying lecturers their monthly salaries, it said the action affects qualitative university education.
“State owned their staff of up to ten months salaries. This dose not motivate the staff to put in their best due to their inability to take care of their families.”
Prof Lawan lamented that university lecturers are poorly paid, pointing out that budgetary allocation to the educational sector was inadequate.
“The 7 percent of the total budget allocated to the education sector in the 2018 budget by the federal government of Nigeria is, to say the least, grossly below the UNESCO recommended minimum of 26 percent as if this mirage is not bad enough.”
It warned that should government continue to ignore ASUU and it several demands it will have no option than to withdraw it services.
“The public is once more called upon to join ASUU in imparting pressure on the government to live up to its national responsibility by honoring the agreement,” they said.
