ASUU Rejects Financial Autonomy For Nasarawa Varsity

Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, chapter, has opposed the financial autonomy granted to the university by the state government. The university’s ASUU chairman, Dr. Nghargbu K’tso made the union’s position known yesterday when he led other members on a courtesy
visit to the state House of Assembly standing committee on Education in Lafia. He explained that the union’s position was necessitated by the fact that the university was a public institution and should be properly funded by the state government. K’tso appealed to the state lawmakers to save the institution by ensuring proper funding in order to improve on the institution’s standard
of education for the overall development of the country. “We are here to appeal to you to use your good offices to increase the funding of the education sector in the state particularly the state university subvention because the budget is passing through you so as to enable the university compete with other universities favourably.” He called for a review of the law establishing the university to provide for only a single term of five years for management officials, as against the current four-year tenure that could be reviewed for such a management official to serve for another term of four years. “This will encourage excellence and productivity because every management staff will know and say that let him or her do their best as far as their tenure is not going to be renewable,” he said. K’tso added that adequate funding of universities would improve research development and would also boost the nation’s revenue base thereby discouraging people from studying abroad as well as addressing the infrastructural decay. The ASUU chairman reinstated the commitment of the association to continue to initiate policies and programmes that have direct bearing on the lives of their members and students for the overall development of the country. Responding the chairman House committee on education, science and technology, Daniel OgaOgazi (APC-Kokona East) assured the union that the Assembly was partnering with the state government in addressing the problems facing the education sector, stressing that the state legislature will continue to enact laws that have direct bearing on the lives of the people.