The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has spoken out in support of President Tinubu’s plans to offer tertiary institutions full autonomy.
Prof Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education, announced two weeks ago that the reform of the education system remains a priority for the Tinubu administration.
According to Mr Mamman, the Tinubu administration will offer universities complete autonomy in exploring external sources of finance.
Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, National President of ASUU, noted in a statement that while the nation’s laws have always supported university autonomy, prior governments have failed to enforce it.
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“First is that every university must prepare its account for the Budget Office every year and forward it to the National Assembly, and when the President assents to it, it becomes a budget. When you go back to them you have to account for the one you received the previous year,” Mr Osodeke said.
Furthermore, he added that the law mandates that a university’s account must be audited by the national auditor every year. “Finally, there is also a provision that the President sets up a visitation panel every five year to go and check what is happening in the universities.”
Osodeke condemned the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and the Treasury Single Account (TSA), claiming that both systems led to no one knowing how much a university receives or spends.
“In those days, when you employ a staff, you defend it but these days, no one knows what is happening,” he said.
