The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed its opposition to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) plans to include private universities in Nigeria as beneficiaries of its projects.
Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the President of ASUU, voiced the union’s stance during a two-day interactive session between TETFund and all beneficiary institutions’ unions. He argued that such a move could result in the proliferation of low-quality private universities.
Osodeke emphasized the need for TETFund to improve its project monitoring methods across the country, highlighting disparities in performance among beneficiary institutions that receive equal amounts of funding.
The ASUU President called on TETFund to implement sanctions for underperforming institutions and urged for the abolition of what he referred to as the “stakeholders fund.” He stated, “ASUU will continue to engage in strike actions until necessary reforms are implemented in our tertiary institutions, including the abolishment of the stakeholders fund.”
During the same event, Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, emphasized that the interactive session aimed to foster sustained growth and development in tertiary education. He stressed the importance of continuous engagement and dialogue to improve the education sector.
Echono expressed his hope that the interactive session would provide an environment for addressing challenges in delivering quality education and contribute to the successful execution of TETFund’s objectives. He reiterated TETFund’s primary mandate to rehabilitate and enhance tertiary education in Nigeria through funding and project management.
Furthermore, Echono highlighted the session’s role as a platform for addressing and preventing industrial disputes in the tertiary education sector, with the goal of ensuring the sector’s stability and development.
