The Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, has issued a warning that inadequate funding could lead to the university’s collapse.
Dr. Abubakar Umar, the union’s chairman, told a press conference in Birnin Kebbi on Friday that the university was dealing with a slew of issues, including infrastructure decay, inadequate lecturer accommodation, inadequate student hostels, and 11 years of unpaid earned academic allowances.
He noted, “For over six years, lecturers of the university have not got promotion implementation not to speak of arrears and even when they get the promotion, sometimes, it takes almost a year before the implementation which was responsible for mass exit of over 20 vibrant and intelligent academic staff.”
He further explained that, “the size of the university workforce has increased but the structures are not only bad but insufficient to accommodate them.
“The same thing is happening to students who had to stay off campus in Jega or Birnin Kebbi, the state capital daily to attend lectures, I am afraid if the university remains underfunded with decaying infrastructure, it will collapse,” he warned”.
In terms of healthcare, he stated that the university clinic had been without a doctor from its inception, and that they had written about it but received no response.
He also expressed concern about the university’s security, recalling that one lecturer was kidnapped and another had been targeted for killing but escaped by a whisker.
“Therefore the university needs security to operate without any fear of attack by gunmen. I appeal to Kebbi State Government to meet our demands to avert the collapse of the university.
“We believe our comrade governor will address the issues raised to save the only state-owned university where children of the poor study.”
When contacted, Abubakar Tunga, the state Commissioner for Higher Education, refuted the allegations via text message.
He did, however, invite journalists to visit the university, denying to comment on unpaid academic earned allowances and promotion implementations.