The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is awaiting formal communication on a decision by the Federal Government to implement 40% deduction of the internally generated revenue (IGR) of federal universities and other partially funded public institutions.
The trade union will, thereafter, take a formal position, following a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.
Speaking to newsmen on conditions of anonymity, a member of NEC said that’s “It has not reached us officially. We have a bigger body, NEC, which will weigh it, analyse it, and take a formal position. But I can assure you that the battle line has been drawn,” a NEC member, who did not want his name in print, told The Guardian.
On his part, the chairman of ASUU, Nasarawa State University (Keffi chapter), Prof. Samuel Alu, described the decision as “draconian”, “barbaric” and “demeaning”, urging parents and other stakeholders to resist the policy.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Alu expressed regret that at a time stakeholders were expecting the Federal Government to meet UNESCO’s benchmark of 26 per cent for funding of education in the national budget, the administration was exploiting the coffers of higher institutions.
According to him, “It does not show that the Federal Government wants public institutions in Nigeria to survive. It is a deliberate attempt to ensure public universities come to an end very soon. A situation where ASUU and other well meaning Nigerians are agitating for proper funding of the educational sector, rather than do what we are asking them to do, you are bringing out a policy that will take 40% of IGR.”