Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has reaffirmed that the Federal Government of Nigeria is constitutionally bound to provide funding for universities in the country. This statement came in response to remarks attributed to the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, indicating that the government would grant full autonomy to universities to explore alternative funding methods.
During an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Prof. Osodeke pointed out that according to Section 18 of the Constitution, both university and primary education are constitutionally mandated to be free. He emphasized that while this obligation is enshrined in the law, it is not easily enforceable in a legal context. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the government would completely withdraw its financial support for public universities.
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Regarding the issue of autonomy, Prof. Osodeke highlighted that it was initially introduced in 2003. He expressed the belief that if this autonomy is allowed to function without bureaucratic interference, it would greatly benefit the university system.
Furthermore, Prof. Osodeke stressed that allocating a larger portion of Nigeria’s budget to education, in alignment with the practices of other West African and European countries, would alleviate funding challenges. He noted that when measured against the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Nigeria’s educational budget allocation is among the lowest in the world.
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