The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has voiced its disappointment over the newly appointed governing council members for federal universities, deeming the selection as a step backward or at least a step in the wrong direction. According to ASUU’s national president, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, the list is dominated by “retired politicians” rather than technocrats, hindering the potential for genuine development in the education sector.
Osodeke emphasized that the composition of the new list raises concerns, stating, “Most people on the list are retired politicians… What does that tell us? That is how terrible the situation has become. And we can’t afford to run our universities like this if we truly want genuine development to take place,” he said.
ASUU’s primary concern, however, lies in the Federal Government’s decision to constitute new councils despite the previous ones being dissolved over 10 months ago without completing their tenures, illegally violating the University Act upon which they were constituted in the first place, not even about the caliber of personalities in the old list that was released last month and later reviewed to pave way for the current list.
The union is now advocating for the recall of the previous council members to complete their terms, rather than appointing new ones, to ensure quality education. ASUU stresses that university education should not be politicized, and the focus should be on merit and expertise rather than political affiliations.
It bears mentioning that the prime university body in Nigeria argued that the university education is not something to play partisan politics with if Nigeria truly wants real economic prosperity. As sounds education inevitably leads to economic growth.
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