The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday decried ‘the paltry’ N66million allocation for capital projects in the University of Ibadan (UI), with a student population of about 30,000.
It said senators, who appropriated the amount, were paid N13.5 million each as running cost per month.
The union said this could only happen where the ruling class lacked vision.
UI ASUU Chairman, Dr. Deji Omole, who addressed reporters yesterday, said the failure to vote enough money for public university was causing crisis.
He said: “It will be difficult to have a citizen who will love the country in future if the present trend of abandoning the poor, while taking care of the rich, is not stopped.
“While each senator is paid N13.5 million as running cost per month, the same Senate appropriated a paltry N66 million for capital projects in the University of Ibadan, with a student population of about 30,000. This can only happen in a country the ruling class lacks vision. This government refuses to drop a kobo for the revitalisation of public universities. Children of the poor are denied access because universities cannot admit beyond what the dilapidated infrastructure can take. Yet, their parents cannot afford private universities. The Federal Government is owing public universities about N800 billion revitalisation funds as contained in the agreement with ASUU.”
Omole, who said the union will oppose unnecessary dues on poor students, added that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government had performed poorly in education.
He said in the United States of America, the elite funded public universities because the country was interested in bridging the gap between the rich and the poor.
“They know the implication of having a growing number of illiterates as we have in Nigeria today.”
The ASUU chairman said the Federal Government had paid lip-service to public education, preferring to pacify militants and terrorists.
He noted that while the people are suffering, the political class has enough to spend in preparation for 2019 general election.
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