By Ayodele Oni
Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) has called on the National Assembly to pass the Bill to amend the National Universities Commission, (NUC) Act to address the proliferation of State universities.
The coordinator of the Kano Zone of the Union, Prof. Abdulkadir Muhammad, said thus while addressing Journalists at Bayero University Kano.
Muhammad, who called for the passage of the bill, also challenged Visitors to the Universities to live up to their responsibilities.
“We are calling on the National Assembly to, as a matter of urgency, consider and pass the Bill. Due to bad governance and underfunding , our
State-owned Universities may soon collapse beyond redemption.
“Visitors of state Universities have turned establishment of Universities into projects for appeasing electorates in their Senatorial and State constituencies, while neglecting the existing ones.
“Besides non funding of capital projects, most State Governors have also failed in the primary responsibility of regular payment of staff salaries in their Universities.”
The coordinator pointed out that ASUU also rejected the charging of exorbitant tuition fees in the State universities because it places University education beyond the reach of common Nigerians.
On the issue of University Transparency and Accountability Solution, (UTAS) he explained that end user acceptability test had been completed and that the Union was waiting for the subsequent deployment of UTAS in the management of payroll and personnel systems of the Federal Universities.
The Union urged the Federal Government to sign and implement the draft ASUU/FGN renegotiated agreement of May, 2021, in addition to the release of the first tranche of the N30 billion fund for the revitalization of public Universities.
“The Government should also release N25 billion Earned Academic Allowance .
“We also urge the Federal Government to immediately remit withheld check-off dues to the branches of the withheld and amputated salaries/ allowances and third party deductions.”
The coordinator stated further that the Union would always deploy appropriate measures to salvage the Nigerian university system from rot and decay.
He said that the Union firmly believed in the use of qualitative education to liberate and transform Nigeria from its current state of underdevelopment.
