ASUU opposes proposal to establish new universities

ASUU has protested the National Assembly’s proposal to establish 47 more federal universities.

This was said by UI ASUU chairman Ayo Akinwole in an interview conducted on Tuesday in Ibadan, outside of the organization’s presentation of scholarships to a few deserving students.

Concerned about the government’s inability to support the current federal universities, Mr. Akinwole voiced his worries about the proposed establishment of new ones.

He claims that the federal government is still fighting to keep the 52 universities it now operates at a high standard.

“Thinking of adding 47 more universities, we begin to wonder what is the objective. The objective cannot be noble at all.

Mr. Akinwole remarked, “If it is noble, you will see the seriousness in the way government is handling the existing ones.”

He pointed out that the government had demonstrated little to no interest in paying salaries and allowances owed to institutions because it had consistently believed that a university degree was the least expensive.

“Perhaps the House of Representatives and the federal government should answer the question: ‘Why are they establishing 47 new universities when they have not taken care of the ones we have?” he asked.

Since there had been no correspondence to the universities regarding the removal of tertiary institutions from IPPIS, the ASUU head referred to it as merely “noisemaking.”

“No letter, as we speak, has been communicated, either to the bursary or the heads of the institutions. All we have been seeing is so much motion without movement,” Mr Akinwole said.

Additionally, he noted that the government had not given them their four months’ salary as promised.

He stated that the 2023 salary increase had not yet been implemented and that university academic staff members were still being paid according to the 2009 negotiated contract.

Thus, he implored the administration to constantly implement its plans before making pronouncements.