The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has staunchly rejected the government’s recent initiative to grant autonomy to federal universities. ASUU asserts that the government cannot entirely relinquish its responsibility for funding higher education in the country. Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU’s President, emphasised during an interview on Channels Television that the Nigerian Constitution explicitly mandates the federal government to finance public universities.
Osodeke explained that According to the law, it is the Federal Government of Nigeria’s obligation to continue funding public universities, as Section 18 of the Constitution explicitly states that ‘university, primary, and secondary education shall be free.
While acknowledging the government’s pursuit of new funding strategies for universities, Osodeke emphasised that a complete withdrawal of funding would be unworkable. He argued that granting universities genuine autonomy, as prescribed by the constitution, raises questions about their ability to generate sufficient funds to sustain their operations.
Nonetheless, Osodeke pointed out saying, “The only problem is that it is not judicable; that’s the only problem so I said I don’t think this government from what we have seen is going to say we are going to hands-off from university.”
Osodeke recommended that the solution lies in the government allocating more resources to education, mirroring the practices of European nations. According to him, if the federal government upholds this commitment, universities will have the necessary funds to deliver quality education to students.
