The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has slammed both federal and state governments for what it perceives as the politicization of education, particularly through the proliferation of public universities while neglecting the funding of existing institutions.
Melemi Abatcha, the chairperson of ASUU’s Federal University Gashua branch in Yobe State, expressed these concerns during a press conference in Damaturu on Thursday.
Abatcha highlighted how governments, especially at the state level, have treated university education as constituency projects, akin to initiatives that politicians bring back to their constituencies. This trend, he noted, is reflected in the establishment of new universities without adequate funding for existing ones.
He lamented ASUU’s ongoing concerns regarding insufficient funding for universities and the challenges faced by academic staff. “The federal government has not fulfilled its promises from 2023, including the allocation of N50 billion for the payment of the backlog of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) and the integration of EAA into salaries from January 2022,” Abatcha claimed.
Abatcha further stated that despite lecturers covering their workloads during forced strikes, salaries remain withheld. “Even with the directive of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the removal of ASUU from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform since December 2023, ASUU members are still being paid via the obnoxious platform (IPPIS),” he said.
He explained that the removal of the fuel subsidy without credible alternatives has brought untold hardship on the people, adding that the union does not want to compound it with yet another disruption of academic activities.
The union also called on the government to show sensitivity to the plight of Nigerians by speedily agreeing to and implementing an acceptable living wage for Nigerian workers.
Abatcha’s remarks underscore the deep-seated issues within Nigeria’s higher education sector, calling for urgent government intervention to address funding inadequacies and improve conditions for academic staff.
