The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says most departments and units in Nigeria’s public universities are understaffed as a result of teachers leaving for greener pastures.
Prof. Ayo Akinwole, Chairman of the University of Ibadan Chapter of ASUU, stated on Tuesday in Ibadan, Oyo State, that Nigeria’s public universities are in pitiful condition, with stress and dissatisfaction obvious on the faces of poorly paid 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 ASUU chairman said bad and delayed pay, unpaid allowances, bad infrastructure, lack of respect for the academic community, and a seemingly vanishing hope are some of the factors responsible for lecturers resigning in recent months.
According to Akinwole, building more institutions will not fix the problem.
“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 cannot 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,” the Oyo State ASUU chairman added.