ASUU Strike: FG Moves to End Incessant University Strikes, to Review University Autonomy

The Federal Government on Monday announced it was working on reviewing the autonomy presently being enjoyed by public universities in Nigeria to put an end to intermittent strikes by tertiary institutions.

Speaking on Monday at an event organized by the National University Commission (NUC) in Abuja, the Vice President, Prof.Yemi Osinabajo stated that one of the major challenges affecting university education in Nigeria is the incessant strike actions by various unions in public universities.

Osinbajo, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, noted that the recent strike which lasted for more than eight months did a big blow to the university system.

He added that the Federal Government has decided to review the laws that established public universities to prevent a re-recurrence. 

He said,” The most recent strike actions by the university-based unions have necessitated a revisit on the issues and scope of university autonomy by the government”. 

“This will lead to a review of the university autonomy laws to appropriately address funding, including staff remuneration, institutional governance, and administration, as well as issues relating to internally generated revenue,” he added. 

Investors King could recall that earlier this year, specifically on February 14, 2022, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on an industrial strike to press for certain demands which include better salaries and improved funding for the university education system. 

The academic union lamented that the federal government failed to implement an agreement that it entered with the union in 2009. 

Speaking further, the SGF noted that the university system has cumulatively lost over 50 months from 1999 to date as a result of strike actions by ASUU. A development he acknowledged to be worrisome. 

“I doubt if there is any country that has lost such amount of time to strikes in its university system. From the first strike in 1978 to date, all the issues have remained the same. The agitations have been primarily on funding, university autonomy, and remunerations.

“I need to stress here that government alone cannot fund education in the country. It is therefore imperative that a sustainable model of funding university education must be developed,” he said.