…says 7% Education Budget for 2025 Won’t Drive Change
…Calls for Competitive Salaries for Lecturers
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that the poor welfare conditions of university lecturers are discouraging young and qualified Nigerians from pursuing academic careers.
Professor Ayo Akinwole, Chairman of ASUU’s University of Ibadan chapter, highlighted this issue in a New Year message, emphasizing that inadequate pay for lecturers and teachers across all levels of education has led to a dearth of qualified professionals in public institutions. He noted that this trend has given rise to private schools that charge exorbitant fees, making quality education inaccessible to many Nigerians.
According to Akinwole, public universities in Nigeria faced stagnation in 2024, with lecturers’ sacrifices preventing industrial crises despite the government’s indifference to their plight. He criticized the 2025 federal budget, which allocates only 7% (₦3.52 trillion out of ₦47.90 trillion) to education, far below the 15%-20% benchmark recommended by UNESCO and the United Nations Population Fund.
Renegotiation of 2009 Agreement
Akinwole commended the federal government for setting up a committee to renegotiate the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement but cautioned against delays. He referenced past committees, including those led by Wale Babalakin, Prof. Munzali Jubril, and the late Prof. Nimi Briggs, noting that the draft agreement reached in 2021 under the Briggs-led committee was ignored by the Buhari administration.
He urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to prioritize reviewing and signing the Briggs-led draft agreement as a sign of commitment to resolving issues in public universities.
Concerns Over Proposed TETFund Policy
The ASUU chairman criticized Tinubu’s proposal to eliminate the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) under the new tax administration bill. He warned that this would significantly undermine funding for infrastructure development in public universities.
The proposed bill seeks to replace the education tax with a “development levy,” which would reduce TETFund’s revenue until it ceases entirely in 2030. Akinwole argued that the policy threatens the survival of public tertiary institutions and prioritizes student loan schemes over infrastructural development.
2025 Agenda for Education Sector
Professor Akinwole called on the Tinubu administration to prioritize the welfare of education workers, considering the current economic challenges and high cost of living. He outlined key expectations, including:
Release of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).
Payment of withheld 3½ months’ salaries and third-party deductions owed to lecturers.
Implementation of funding agreements for university revitalization as stipulated in past MoUs and MoAs.
Akinwole warned that failure to address these issues could lead to prolonged confrontations between ASUU and the federal government, potentially plunging the university system into yet another avoidable crisis.
