ASUU Kick Against Mass Resignations In Public Varsities

Posted by Nwa Diokpa Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Tuesday, December 5th, 2023

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Academic Staff Union of Universities, on Tuesday, lamented that most departments and units in Nigeria’s public universities were short-staffed because of the resignation of lecturers looking for greener pastures.

The Chairman of the University of Ibadan Chapter of ASUU, Prof. Ayo Akinwole, who made this known in Ibadan, Oyo State, stated that Nigeria’s public universities were in very pitiable conditions as stress and frustration can be easily seen in the faces of poorly-remunerated lecturers.

He said: “Except President Bola Tinubu arrests the situation by reviewing the conditions of service in terms and salaries, allowances, and infrastructure, many good hands will continue to resign and leave the country. Unfortunately, the same government that is not funding education has a National Assembly proposing to establish 32 more universities.”

The chairman also stated that poor and delayed salaries, unpaid allowances, poor infrastructure, lack of respect for the academic community, and other factors are responsible for the resignation of lecturers in the past few months.

He said: “The union has received reports on how colleagues resign on a monthly basis because of the way lecturers are treated and poorly remunerated in Nigeria. Universities around the world are poaching more quality hands, and if not halted by the government, through intentional reviewing of upward conditions of service, it will be difficult to retain the best hands.

“Vice Chancellors can not single-handedly employ to replace staff as urgent as it is needed again. They have to contact Abuja for approval, which may take six months to a year, if not more, before they get approval. By this time, the best candidate has gone to a more serious country that respects quality. Sadly, people from higher up there from the Ministry of Education to legislators themselves want to dictate who the universities should employ.”