The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticised the Federal Government for approving new private universities shortly after declaring a seven-year moratorium on establishing additional tertiary institutions.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its President, Christopher Piwuna, the union said the move was inconsistent and unnecessary, stressing that access to university education in Nigeria was no longer the major challenge.
He said, *“ASUU also watched in awe as the Federal Government announced the seven-year moratorium; they proceeded to announce the establishment of nine new private universities.
“If we agree that access is no longer an issue, why is the NUC giving more licences to private universities?
“While ASUU acknowledges the rights of private individuals to establish universities, education must be tightly controlled to ensure quality.”*
ASUU described the continuous licensing of universities as a “scandalous proliferation,” accusing successive governments of using such approvals as political rewards rather than for genuine educational development.
The statement added, *“The government must therefore promote quality education and shun profiteering in the education sector.
“We have 72 federal and 108 state universities, and 159 private universities, bringing it to a total of 339 universities, giving each state and the FCT an average of nine universities, excluding polytechnics and colleges of education.
“So why not place a moratorium on both public and private? Past and present administration must cover their faces in shame for this scandalous proliferation of universities.
“Failure to do this will continue to erase our universities from world rankings.
“University administrations and the regulatory agency must equally share in the blame for the wrong staff mix highlighted in the minister’s pronouncement.”*
While acknowledging the moratorium, the union argued that licensing more private institutions would further strain staffing, undermine global competitiveness, and reduce the value of Nigerian degrees.
It added, *“For more than 10 years, our union has cried aloud about the harmful effects of establishing mushroom universities that the government has no plans to develop.
“In total disregard for time-tested planning and ideas that hitherto went into establishing universities, we have watched universities turn into compensation for political patronage.
“So, ASUU was not surprised when the Minister of Education stated that over 30 universities had zero subscriptions for admission.
“We have drawn the attention of the authorities to the fact that spreading scarce resources over a large surface area was meaningless and wasteful.”*
On August 13, the Federal Executive Council announced a seven-year suspension on creating new federal universities, citing the need to strengthen existing ones.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, explained, “Several federal universities operate far below capacity, with some having fewer than 2,000 students.
“In one northern university, there are 1,200 staff serving fewer than 800 students. This is a waste of government resources.”
Meanwhile, ASUU reiterated calls for the government to address unresolved issues in the university system, including the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, revitalisation funds, salary arrears, and promotion delays.
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