Just In : Fresh Headache For Parents, Students, Tinubu As ASUU Threatens Fresh Strike With Strong Reason
Universities across the nation may face strikes in 2024 due to the meager budget allocated to the education sector and inadequate remuneration, warns the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
In an interview with The PUNCH on Monday, Prof. Emmanuel Oshodeke explained that President Bola Tinubu had pledged to raise the Education sector’s allocation to at least 15 percent or more during the campaign and election earlier this year.
Additionally, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation recommended a 26 percent benchmark allocation for member states’ education sectors.
Expressing dissatisfaction, Oshodeke highlighted that Nigeria had the lowest remuneration for professors globally. Despite these expectations, ASUU was disheartened when the 2024 education budget was announced at N2.18 trillion, representing 7.9 percent of the budget. He noted that this figure remained the same during the Buhari government, and without an increase, the sector’s progress would be limited.
Oshodeke urged the government to engage with cabinet members and raise the budget to 15 percent or higher.
“With this seven per cent education budget, nothing will change in the sector, it is just as we had during Buhari’s time. Tinubu during his campaign promised to increase the education budget but nothing.
“However, there is still a chance for him, to change. But if no improvement on this and our other demands, by next year, we will mobilise our people and we can’t stay like this because Oyo State has 15 per cent and Enugu State budgeted 32 per cent for education, but FG is giving less than eight per cent.
“He can still increase it, they should liaise with the executives and come out with a budget that is not less than 15 per cent as he promised during the election.”
Dr. Anderson Ezeibe, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, expressed dismay, telling The PUNCH, “It is demoralising to see the allocation follow the same trend as in the past.”
“The sectoral allocation for education is less than eight per cent and can barely provide solutions to the multifaceted problems in the sector. The allocation is inadequate and falls short of the expectations.”
While speaking on the japa syndrome, which he said had led to an overwhelming brain drain in the university system, he advised the government to increase the salaries of lecturers, pay the backlog of Earned Allowance and withheld salaries.
Osohodeke added, “They should increase lecturers’ salaries, and the increment of retirement age, will enable lecturers to produce more PhDs, but the government is not interested in the system. They should separate lecturers from civil servants.”
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He also complained about the lack of international lecturers in the tertiary institutions in Nigeria, saying, “For you to be well-ranked, you have to get lecturers all over the world to come lecture in your system. We pay the least remuneration to professors, globally.
“Professors in Nigeria earn between $200 to $300 a month but when such a professor moves to Rwanda, he earns $3000.
“The government should allow universities to run on its own, they should sign the agreement with Nimi Briggs. They can do all these if there is willpower.”
Ezeibe, added, “The only way to stop the japa syndrome and save our sector from brain drain is to improve funding for the education sector, improve the wage structure to meet at least the African average, and restore governance in the sector to global standards. By doing these, our academics who are leaving will stay back as they will be better motivated.”
