Nigeria Does Not Need New Universities, ASUU Tells FG

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has urged the Federal Government not to give approvals for the creation of new universities.


The past ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, stated this on Wednesday during a national symposium and retirement felicitation to celebrate a former President of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Comrade Sam Akindele.


Ogunyemi said, “Nigeria doesn’t need new universities. The structures we are operating, how well are they positioned to deliver? We are talking of establishing more institutions whereas they are not catering for the existing ones. Who is deceiving who?


“Go to the National Assembly now, you can be sure they have nothing less than 30 bills proposing new Colleges of Education; not less than 50 bills proposing new Universities, Polytechnics and so on. Is that what we need?


“How well are the existing institutions delivering? It means those who are there are not connected with the system. In 2012, we advocated for the NEEDS Assessment of public universities in Nigeria. What we came up with in the report was scandalous.



“The N1.3trn that we proposed to fix our universities in six years is real. I visited first generation universities where we saw them using kerosene stoves in place of fossil burners and fetching water in buckets in a 24 century laboratory. What quality education are we proposing?”