The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has condemned the Federal Government’s approval of new private universities, describing the move as reckless and profit-driven.
The union recalled that despite the seven-year moratorium recently announced on the establishment of new universities, the government went ahead to approve nine private institutions.
“ASUU also watched in awe as the Federal Government announced the seven-year moratorium; they proceeded to announce the establishment of nine new private universities,” the union said in a statement signed by its president, Christopher Piwuna, on Thursday.
The union questioned the logic behind issuing more licences when access to higher education was no longer a challenge.
“If we agree that access is no longer an issue, why is the NUC giving more licenses to private universities? While ASUU acknowledges the rights of private individuals to establish universities, education must be tightly controlled to ensure quality,” the union added.
ASUU stressed that the government must prioritise the promotion of quality education and “shun profiteering in the education sector,” noting that the country already has 339 universities—72 federal, 108 state, and 159 private.
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“So why not place a moratorium on both public and private? Past and present administration must cover their faces in shame for this scandalous proliferation of universities. Failure to do this will continue to erase our universities from world rankings. University administrations and the regulatory agency must equally share in the blame for the wrong staff mix highlighted in the minister’s pronouncement,” ASUU warned.
The union also said it had long raised concerns about the proliferation of universities without proper planning, describing them as “mushroom institutions” used as political patronage.
“For more than 10 years, our union has cried aloud about the harmful effects of establishing mushroom universities that the government has no plans to develop. In total disregard for time-tested planning and ideas that hitherto went into establishing universities, we have watched universities turn into compensation for political patronage,” it stated.
ASUU noted that it was not surprised when Education Minister, Tunji Alausa, disclosed that over 30 universities recorded zero admission subscriptions. “We have drawn the attention of the authorities to the fact that spreading scarce resources over a large surface area was meaningless and wasteful,” the statement added.
Tribune Online reports that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had on August 13 approved a seven-year moratorium on new federal tertiary institutions to curb duplication and improve standards.
Announcing the decision, Alausa said several universities were underutilised. “Several federal universities operate far below capacity, with some having fewer than 2,000 students. In one northern university, there are 1,200 staff serving fewer than 800 students. This is a waste of government resources,” he said.
The minister explained that many institutions attracted fewer than 100 applicants in the last JAMB exercise and warned that unchecked proliferation risked producing ill-prepared graduates and diminishing the global value of Nigerian degrees.
“If we want to improve quality and not be a laughing stock globally, the pragmatic step is to pause the establishment of new federal institutions,” Alausa added.
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