Strike: ASUU decries proliferation of universities

The Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU on Tuesday expressed serious worries over the current state of affairs in the nation’s Universities especially the prevalence of unlicensed and unapproved degree awarding universities in Nigeria

This came just as the Union proposed a minimum of N2billion as take-off grant for new universities by government as a way of check mating the issue of proliferation of satellite campus by some universities.

The Association in addition declared that it was not in support of any attempt to check mate or proscribe student union activities in the universities and other Tertiary Institutions in the Country.

ASUU made its positions known yesterday at a public hearing organised by House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education and Services at the National Assembly.

The National President of ASUU Comrade Biodun Ogunyemi who read the position paper of the Union before the Committee stated that the union was not happy over the subsisting legal framework on the establishment of new universities by the Federal Government

The Union stated that what was needed to revitalize the University Education in the Country was a complete repeal of the National Universities Commission Act to conform to international standards.

It  further hinted that the union believed that a review or outright repeal of university law is better and should be conceptualized with a view to make it better.

It also warned against delay or non-issuance of degree certificates to graduands by these institutions saying that it jeopardizes their career prospects.

However, the National Universities Commission NUC represented by Mallam Ibrahim Yakassi, a Director in the Commission, stated that the Commission was currently undergoing a nationwide review of the nation’s universities curriculum and that the Senate of each university was the sole authority that oversees issuance of degree certificates.

Mallam Yakassi pleaded with the lawmakers to expedite action on the proposed amendment of the laws establishing the Commission which had been pending before the National Assembly for a very long time.

Earlier in a remark, Chairman of the Committee Hon. Aminu Suleiman had said that some of the existing Nigerian laws needed to be strengthened with a promise that the Committee will act very appropriately on any chief executive of government agency that failed to honour its invitation to the hearing.

The hearing which centered on five education related Bills referred to the Committee sought views of education stakeholders on these proposed legislations.

Notably, one of the Bills is to alter the name of Federal University of Agriculture Markurdi to J.S Tarka University of Agriculture Markurdi.