By Dr. Abdelghaffar Amoka
TETFund was established after a series of ASUU strikes not as the major funder of infrastructures in tertiary institutions but with the fund for intervention in critical areas in the existing tertiary institutions. But it has now become the major funder of infrastructures. That is why some universities are referred to as TETFund universities. This administration especially decided to establish more universities with a directive to TETFund to issue a take-off grant to them. The fund established for intervention in existing institutions is now the major funder of new and old universities.
One university that I have always referred to in the utilization of TETFund intervention grants is Bayero University, Kano. The university management over the years has been able to utilize the intervention fund to expand the university. The Faculty of Law of the university was said to have been built with TETFund. It is now surprising to read a comment from an individual that had a first degree from BUK Law in 2011, a Master’s degree from the same faculty in 2014, taught in the faculty till 2018 before he got an opportunity for a PhD in the UK to say that the ASUU strike has yielded no result. like seriously? He went further to say that ASUU is mad. Wow! Well done. It appears this abroad thing has a way of making us forget who we are and where we came from. Psychologists may have a name for such an ailment.
ASUU’s approach is archaic in the gospel according to my elitist friends. But unfortunately, the archaic method is the only language they understood. The civilized method didn’t work. ASUU never declared a strike without opening a window for engagement. The national assembly leaders intervened in November 2021 and there was no result. A warning strike notice was given in November 2021 and it did not move them. The leaders of the inter-religious council came in December 2021 with no result. The union leaders tactically dragged the issue till February 2022, hoping that something positive will come up, and nothing. So, suggest other options to deal with an insensitive government?
They said ASUU demands cannot be met by any government. My dear elitist friends, What is it about ASUU demands that can’t be implemented? The renegotiation committee that consisted of highly respected Nigerians finished their work and submitted their report in May 2021 and the report was dumped in an office. Nigerians said the universities are corrupt and badly managed and ASUU insists that FG should activate the monitoring system to check the activities of the university management. After a series of strikes, they eventually sent visitation panels in 2021. The reports of the panels were dumped somewhere without preparing the white paper. IPPIS is strangulating the normal operation of the university system and the Academics have developed an alternative that will work for the system. An alternative that got 80% of the test they have subjected it to and they rejected the package. Meanwhile, the imported software was never subjected to any test before its deployment. Mental slavery. There is no fund for universities but there is 305 billion for an election that may still be manipulated.
The elitist future leaders of the country can see no other way out but the introduction of tuition fees. ABU increased the “registration fee” from N20,000 to between N30,000 to N50,000, an increment that some of us considered too little, and a lot of students are yet to be able to register for this session. Of course, the elitists don’t care. They should go and learn a trade. Kaduna state government increased the tuition of Kaduna state university to between N150,000 and N500,000 and none of my elitist friends have gone to Kaduna to take the statistics of the dropout and what they are doing now.
Ok! Let’s take the path of the elitists and introduce tuition to fund public universities. But how are we going to fund the underfunded public primary and secondary schools? With the praises on El-Rufai on infrastructures in the state, some of the kids in the only public primary schools in Palladan, Zaria sit on the floor. Go to the likes of Kogi state to see the definition of underfunded public schools. There are primary schools with only 6 teachers, secondary schools with just about 10 teachers, etc. So, how are we going to fund these public schools? Introduce tuition as well?
I have insisted that the problem with the funding of education in Nigeria is not about the availability of funds but defining our priorities. It is going to be difficult to convince anyone that a country that can afford 305 billion naira for a single election, 179 billion naira for headcount, 100 billion in 1 year to rehabilitate non-functional refineries, etc, cannot fund education at any level.
We should possibly tow the path of my elitist friends and sell off anything called education. Let the government be bold enough to close all public schools (primary to tertiary) if they can’t be properly funded and secured for quality education and sell them as we did to PHCN. Let’s operate fully privatized primary schools, secondary schools, and universities for those that can afford it.
As we sit in the comfort created for us in the UK, US, Scandinavian, etc, by their patriots, postulating theories that will only make education possible for the haves, remember that England provided free education at all levels for 900 years before the introduction of tuition in their universities in 1996. Scandinavian countries offer free education to all levels. University is free in several European countries. The UK prepared their country and the people very well before the introduction of tuition and parents are not responsible for the payment of the tuition. So, how much have we prepared Nigerian and Nigeria for your theory?
Some of us actually want to tow the selfish path of my elitist friends and pushing the Union to make welfare the priority and let the students and parents carry their cross. With improved salaries, we should be able to afford good primary, secondary and university education for our kids just like my friends at CBN, NNPC, etc.
There is the need to introduce a general studies course (critical reasoning) in our universities. Some of the comments we read on social media show that some people are genuinely ignorant. As Kabiru Danladi Lawanti said, ignorance is not an excuse to be stupid.
