The distribution of the ₦320.3 billion that the Federal Government recently allocated for tertiary institutions in the nation has drawn criticism from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
President Muhammadu Buhari had approved ₦320.3 billion for the 2023 intervention for public tertiary institutions, according to a statement on Wednesday by the executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono.
Each university would receive ₦1,154,732,133.00 for the 2023 intervention cycle, while polytechnics would receive ₦699,344,867.00 and colleges of education ₦800,862,602.
However, in an interview with Channels Television on Thursday, ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, while commending the government for the fund release, asked for redistribution of the fund to ensure 90% goes to the tertiary institutions.
“It (₦320bn fund) is a good development, this is part of what we struggle for in 1994, it is our struggle, but there are issues we need to sort out,” Osodeke said.
“When you check the allocation of about ₦1.2 billion to universities and others, you find out that the total for all the universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education come to just about ₦186 billion allocated out of about ₦320, leaving a balance of ₦132 billion that has not been accounted for. What are we using that ₦132 billion which is 41% of the total amount of money? Is it for bureaucracy or for what?
“This is what has been happening in TETFund and I think there is a need to examine what exactly is happening at TETFund. The idea of this TETFund when it was negotiated by ASUU was that this money will come and be distributed to the universities, not keeping 41% for whatever purpose.
“I think we need a redistribution of this fund to ensure that it accounts for 90% of what has been approved to go to universities, polytechnic and not kept as bureaucracy or whatever. You need to tell the public what TETFund is doing with the balance of ₦132 billion,” he added.
Osodeke also bemoaned the government’s failure to contact the university lecturers union for a meeting since the strike, which lasted for roughly nine months, was called off, claiming that the majority of the problems that led to the walkout are still unresolved.
“As far as this present government is concerned, once the strike is over, the issue is resolved unknown to them that a strike is a symptom of a problem. They have abandoned the problem. Since we called off the strike based on a court directive, not a single meeting has been called. Not a kobo has been paid,” the ASUU President explained