This development followed the report that the National
Assembly is considering various bills to create about 32 Federal Colleges of
Education, 11 Federal Colleges of Agriculture, and five Federal Polytechnics,
in addition to existing institutions.
Recalls that the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Tajudeen Abbas, while addressing Reps members on December 30, 2023, noted that
the Green Chamber received and considered 962 bills, 500 motions, and 153
petitions in six months.
This means that if the bills sail through, the number of
federal-owned universities in Nigeria will rise to 99 in the coming months.
Findings indicated that Nigeria currently has a total of 52
federal universities, and 63 state universities with some states of the
federation hosting more than one and 147 private universities.
The Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State-Owned
Universities, COPSUN, had cautioned state governments against the proliferation
of universities, calling on both the federal and the state governments to
improve on funding universities and enhance the welfare of the university
workers.
“To maintain international best practices and be recognized
among first-rated universities, the governments at Federal and the State levels
should improve on the funding of their universities and enhance the welfare of
the workforce,” COPSUN said, adding that state governments should exercise
restraint in establishing new universities but invest heavily on the existing
ones to improve on the quality of their infrastructure.
Further reports shows that the Academic Staff Union of
Universities, ASUU, had expressed concern over the proliferation of tertiary
institutions, saying the establishment of universities without a template for
funding was one of the factors responsible for the falling standard of tertiary
education in the country.
ASUU National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke stated this
while delivering a paper at the 14th Ralph Opara Memorial Lecture, tagged
“State of tertiary education in Nigeria: Identifying historical issues and
misconceptions, contemplating solutions,” organized by the National Association
of Seadogs in Benin.
He also noted that the government’s method of appointment
and recruitment into state-owned universities has also contributed to the
problem.
Osedeke said, “One of the major problems facing the tertiary
institution is the establishment of universities without a template for
funding.
“The method of appointment and recruitment into state-owned
universities by the government has also been a problem.’’
UniAbuja ASUU Chairman, Dr Kasim Umaru expressed concern
over the National Assembly members sponsoring bills to create more universities
in the country.
He said that every lawmaker wants to have a university in
their village, not minding the conditions attached.
He said, “It is so sad to see more universities springing
up. The already existing ones are not properly funded and they are trying to
create new ones. We classify them as constituency project universities.
“For legislators, you must have a university in your village
whether it is funded or not, they are not interested. Just to create a problem
for the system.
“That’s what they are doing and that is not what a
university should be. We are as worried as every Nigerian.
“Who are the lecturers that would teach in those
universities when the ones in the already existing ones are leaving the country
because of poor remuneration and you are creating more universities? It is a
sad development.”
He urged the government to ban the creation of more
universities, alleging that state governments were creating universities to get
funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund.
“Let the government ban the creation of public universities
and set the conditions for the state governments to start a university.
“They should make sure the states have the financial
capacity to run a university for five years without TETFund support.
Universities must be run for five years before having access to TeTFund,” he
said.
The Port Harcourt Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Stanley Ogoun,
had called for the urgent amendment of the National Universities Commission Act
to stop governors from indiscriminately establishing new universities without
adequately funding them.
The union said governors were turning the establishment of
tertiary institutions into constituency projects at the detriment of existing
ones.
On his part, the Chairman of ASUU, Federal University of
Technology, Minna, Prof. Gbolahan Bolarin, had described the move by the
lawmakers as misplaced priorities.
He said, “Misplaced priority. You have institutions that are
trying to stay afloat yet the only thing you can think of is to create more
institutions so that your people would think you are working.
“They should concentrate more on projects that would impact
the lives of their constituents instead of creating more problems for the
nation.”
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