ASUU Urged NUC To Dissaprove Additional State Universities.

Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, had called on the National Universities Commission, NUC, not to grant operational licence to any state government that approaches it for such.


The union made the call at a press briefing organised by its Lagos zone comprising University of Lagos, Akoka; Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye; Lagos State University, Ojo; Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun Ijebu and the Federal University of Agriculture, FUNAAB, Abeokuta.

The briefing was held at UNILAG with all the chairmen and other officers of the chapters in attendance.
The Lagos zone coordinator of the union, Prof. Olusiji Sowande, who spoke at the briefing, said the group was strongly against the establishment of new state universities at least for now based on the fact that many of the existing ones were in serious deplorable conditions.

He said many states were not economically viable to run one university effectively let alone establish new one.

The ASUU boss, who teaches Animal Science at FUNAAB named Ondo, Edo and Bayelsa states as case studies, arguing that many state governments now relied heavily on money from the TertiaryEducation Trust Fund, TETFund, and the Needs Assessment Intervention Fund to run their universities.

According to him, apart from the deplorable conditions of its university at Akungba-Akoko and Okitipupa, Ondo State government still owed workers three month salaries and yet the state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko went ahead to establish a third university.

“Also, Governor Adams Oshiomole of Edo State who has failed in funding Ambrose Alli University has also established another university, and likewise Governor Seriaki Dickson of Bayelsa State established another university at a time workers at the Niger Delta University had not be paid for five months.

“And one common thread among these new universities is that they are all sited in the communities of governors that brought them to life.

“So, there is no need to establish other universities when the ones on ground lack basic infrastructures and facilities to make them perform as 21st century universities,” he said.

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