The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU has accused the All Progressives Congress government of delibrately starving public education of funds.
The academic body in its statement on Sunday, described President Muhammadu Buhari’s policy on education as anti-masses as it stated that the withheld funds was aimed at denying the Nigerian youths the right to know and challenge misrule.
Lamenting that the sacrifices of understaffed and underpaid Nigerian academia would be futile if President Buhari did not increase funding for education, ASUU stated that over 500,000 Nigerian children who desire public university education were rejected annually due to decayed infrastructure, reduced manpower and paucity of funds.
“The APC government’s failure to fund education is a design to kill public universities. University of Ibadan is groaning terribly due to paucity of funds. Retired academics cannot be replaced because government deliberately refused to make budgetary provision for growth and development.
“This crisis has led to the staff on ground being overworked leading to early deaths of many of our colleagues. Education is not the priority of this government. Due to paucity of funds, many universities including University of Ibadan, the nation’s premier university, cannot admit many qualified candidates into the universities.
“This is dangerous to the society as the rejected qualified and brilliant candidates may eventually take to crimes because the country has rejected them. The policy is not only wicked but criminal,” ASUU said.
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