ASUU to FG: Pay varsities N550bn NEEDS assessment fund

By Agboola Bayo
Ibadan

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the federal government to pay the outstanding N550billion NEEDS assessment intervention fund for universities to save them from collapsing.
ASUU in a statement made available to newsmen in Ibadan and signed by its Zonal coordinator, Ibadan Zone, Dr Ade Adejumo and Chairman UI, Chapter, Dr. Deji Omole, respectively, declared that government attitude to funding education was killing the industry and making it difficult for it to be globally competitive and causing massive brain drain.
According to the union, the intervention fund was last paid in 2013 during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, while the 2014 N220billion, 2015 N220billion and 2016 N110billion, were still outstanding.
ASUU in the statement lamented that of the capital budget allocated to education in the 2016 budget, 38 per cent went to federal government secondary schools, while only five per cent, three per cent and eight per cent were allocated to federal polytechnics, colleges of education and universities, respectively.

The union emphasised the urgent need for the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu to attend to issues of earned academic allowances, renegotiation of 2009 ASUU/FGN agreements, staff salaries, academic pension, TSA and university autonomy and budgetary allocation to education raised at their previous meetings before the university system is plunged into industrial crisis.
ASUU stressed that there was no way government can expect any miracle from its grossly under-funded universities to compete with adequately funded universities and highly motivated academics around the globe, saying, it was said that the present government rather reduced budgetary allocation to education to worsen the sector from 11percent in 2013, 12percent in 2014, 11percent in 2015 to 8percent in the 2016 budget.
The union frowned at the present administration’s “fractional, irregular payment of salaries and other personnel emoluments” adding that the union will resist any further attempt to erode university autonomy.
ASUU, however, accused government officials of always shedding crocodile tears at university convocation where they decry low ranking of Nigerian universities while they take their children to study abroad.