ASUU rejects FG’s move to scrap varsity courses

The Benin Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has rejected what it described as a “dangerous” move by the Federal Government to scrap courses considered irrelevant, warning that such a policy could undermine university autonomy and destabilise Nigeria’s higher education system.

Speaking at a press conference on the implementation of the 2025 FGN/ASUU Agreement in Benin on Thursday, the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU Benin Zone, Prof. Monday Igbafen, said the union would strongly resist any attempt to unilaterally abolish academic programmes in Nigerian universities.

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Igbafen argued that decisions on academic programmes fall within the statutory responsibilities of universities and their regulatory bodies, stressing that any external interference amounts to an assault on academic freedom and institutional autonomy.

According to the ASUU member, the Federal Government’s reported plan to discontinue courses deemed less relevant to the labour market was unacceptable, insisting that universities should retain the right to determine their academic offerings in line with national development goals and global educational standards.

The ASUU leader was reacting to recent remarks allegedly credited to the Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, who reportedly expressed concerns that some programmes, particularly within the humanities and social sciences, were producing graduates with limited employment prospects, while the country requires more manpower in technology, artificial intelligence, engineering, agriculture, vocational education, and entrepreneurship.

On the implementation of the 2025 FGN/ASUU Agreement, Igbafen recalled that the pact was formally unveiled by the Federal Government on January 14, 2026, raising hopes that years of negotiations and industrial disputes between both parties had finally come to an end.

He lamented that despite assurances given at the unveiling, the government had failed to fulfil several key commitments contained in the agreement, thereby eroding confidence in its willingness to honour collective bargaining arrangements.

The ASUU zonal coordinator listed what he described as the Federal Government’s “10 sins” against the union, including the failure to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee, unresolved financial obligations, policy inconsistencies in education, unilateral transitional education plans, compulsory enrolment in NERD, and the threat to scrap academic programmes.

Other issues, he said, include alleged mismanagement in universities, land-grabbing controversies in Niger State, distorted implementation of earned allowances, and the refusal of some state governors to comply with the provisions of the 2025 FGN/ASUU Agreement despite a directive for full implementation.

Igbafen specifically criticised the governments of Edo, Delta, and Ondo for what he described as their failure to implement the salary component of the agreement nearly five months after the Federal Government’s directive, describing the situation as both disappointing and unacceptable.

He noted that many governors, who serve as Visitors to state-owned universities, had failed to act despite their representatives participating actively in the negotiations that produced the agreement, a development he described as hypocritical.

The ASUU leader warned that continued disregard for negotiated agreements and collective bargaining could plunge public universities into another round of industrial crisis, stressing that the union would not hesitate to take appropriate action if the government fails to address the outstanding issues.