The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) declares its commitment to ongoing strikes until the government fulfills its demands.
ASUU strongly opposes the Tertiary Education Trust Fund’s (TETFund) plan to include private universities in its projects, expressing concerns about potential quality decline.
President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, conveyed this stance during a two-day interactive session between TETFund and all unions of beneficiary institutions. Osodeke emphasized the adverse effects such a move could have, leading to a proliferation of private universities lacking in quality.
Commending TETFund for its delivery, Osodeke urged the fund to enhance its monitoring methods for projects across the country.
He noted disparities in performance among beneficiary institutions, calling for sanctions on non-performing institutions. Additionally, he advocated for the abolition of what he referred to as the “stakeholders fund.”
Osodeke stated, “ASUU will continue to embark on strike until the right thing is done in our tertiary institutions. Stakeholders fund should be abolished.”
During his welcome address, Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, highlighted that the interactive session aimed to proactively engage with prevailing challenges in the sub-sector.
Echono stressed the importance of consistently challenging each other to improve the situation for the steady growth and development of tertiary education.
Former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, commended TETFund for its commitment to elevating university education. Wabba emphasized the crucial role of trade unions in TETFund’s intervention activities, acknowledging the intellectual clarity and consistency of unions in tertiary institutions.
This interactive session, according to Echono, serves as a platform to discuss and mitigate industrial disputes in the tertiary education sector while building collaboration between TETFund, beneficiary institutions, and unions for the growth and development of tertiary education in Nigeria.
