The Academic Staff Union of Univetsities (ASUU) has rejected the bill seeking to create new universities in the country
The union question the need for the establishment of new universities while existing ones are being ignored and in deplorable states.
The regulatory body of universities in Nigeria, National University Commission revealed that the total number of federal universities is 49, state-owned universities 55, and private universities 99.
No less than 48 bills were initiated in 2019 for the creation of new universities, followed by a drop the following year when 43 bills for new universities were pushed.
Further analysis has shown that 80 bills were pushed for the establishment of new universities in 2021.
Notable among the bills is the bill for the establishment of Federal University of Tourism, Wamba 2021; Federal University of Entrepreneurship Onitsha, 2022; Federal University of Transport, Daura 2021; University of Broadcast and Film studies, Jos; Nigerian Police University of Information and Technology, Abeokuta among others.
ASUU National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke,in an interview said,”When you go to Nigerian universities, you see dilapidated buildings; lecturers are not even being treated well. Why create new universities when you cannot even take care of the existing ones?”
On the statistics of the NUC about the number of lecturers in Nigerian universities, he stated: “We do not have up to 100,000 lecturers in Nigerian universities, there is brain drain.
“Lecturers are leaving because of unfair treatment and they will continue to leave until the government does the right thing by making sure that adequate funds are released into the university system.”