Universities better under Buhari, professors earn more than me – Fayemi
of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to embark on
strike.
According to him, tertiary institutions in the country had fared
better under President Muhammadu Buhari.
Fayemi said this in Paris at the end of the President's interactive
session with Nigerians living in France.
He said; "If you talk about tertiary education, ASUU is on strike, but
you ask yourself, why is ASUU on strike. ASUU claimed that it is on
strike because it wants improvement in the fortunes of education in
Nigeria and that government has not lived up to expectations.
"I made bold to say that no government has done as much as this
government has done, not just for ASUU, but for tertiary education in
our country.
"Is it enough? Absolutely, it's not going to be enough. We have to
keep doing more", Nation quoted him as saying.
"But ask yourself what was the average wage in the University system
before. A university professor earn more than me as a governor. My
salary as a governor is N500,000. Most university professors earn
about the same amount, if not more.
"Yes, you may argue that there are other opportunities available,
there are also other opportunities that are available that are not
being taken advantage of by our academics. I can say a little bit
about this because this is my terrain.
"I do not think that ASUU on its own strength can argue that
government has not done well. There is hardly any institution in
Nigeria today, including states universities, that have not had the
benefit of intervention.
"It is either the government is building an auditorium or
rehabilitating a laboratory, or improving on students hostels in
virtually all the universities as I speak to you. That's what TETFUND
does via their intervention funds. That again is not the complete
solution.
"Can we continue to maintain a tuition-free education in Nigeria, in
even Federal universities. What UNESCO pushes for, what most universal
human rights positions argue for, is that basic education should be
free. Basic education is free in Nigeria right up to secondary
schools.
"As for free university education, I'm not so sure that is what we
really need right now. But in order to address that, we also must
elevate the place of technical and vocational education in our country
so that we don't see those that go for technical education as inferior
to those who go to universities.
"Our educational system should focus on functionality rather than just
certificates. I think this is what ASUU and other drivers of change in
our economy should be arguing for.
"Can we add more resources to education budget? Absolutely we can. But
when you have competing needs, you cannot have everything that you
want. And this is something ASUU needs to know"
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