ASUU criticizes proposed creation of universities

The National Assembly’s decision to establish an extra 47 federal institutions has drawn criticism from the Academic Staff Union of institutions, or ASUU, section at the University of Ibadan (UI).

This was said by Prof. Ayo Akinwole, the chairman of the UI ASUU, in an interview with reporters in Ibadan on Tuesday, the day it awarded scholarships to a few deserving students.

Concerned about the government’s inability to support the current federal institutions, Akinwole voiced concerns about the proposed construction of others.

According to him, the federal government is still fighting to keep the 52 colleges it now operates at a high standard.

When we consider the addition of 47 more universities, we start to question the goal. The goal isn’t even close to being noble.

“You will notice the seriousness in the way the government is handling the current ones if it is noble,” Akinwole remarked.

He claimed that because the government had consistently seen college education as the least expensive option, it had demonstrated little to no interest in covering the salaries and benefits owed to colleges.

Since there had been no correspondence to the universities regarding the removal of tertiary institutions from IPPIS, the ASUU head referred to it as merely “noisemaking.”