Nigeria: Refrain children of public office holders from studying abroad, says ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said that the children of public office holders in Nigeria should be refrained from traveling abroad to study in tertiary institutions, according to a report by Today Ng.

The Akure zone of the union said in a statement, “such policy would reduce the decadence in the nation’s education sector". The statement was signed by Olu Olu Olufayo the Zonal Coordinator and Olayinka Awopetu the Chairman of the FUTA ASUU branch Chairman.

The Union said that the implementation of such a policy would help the nation to build its educational and health sectors. The statement said, “members of the ruling class and their cohorts have their wards schooling abroad, so they have no commitment to end ASUU strike since the political office has become occupational rather than public service. Until we domesticate two very important practices as laws in Nigeria, we may not get out of this doldrums -first, an act to compel all public office holders and government appointees to have their wards educated in Nigeria Public schools from primary to tertiary level".

Adding to it, the union also called upon the Federal Government to refrain the members of its ruling class and their dependants from seeking medical intervention in foreign lands. It said, “secondly, an act to compel all political office holders, appointees and their dependents prohibiting them from seeking medical intervention outside Nigeria. When these two laws are enacted, perhaps we will gradually see the end of needless ASUU strikes in the Country. Until such a time when the government does the needful (our ivory towers properly funded, our withheld emoluments paid amongst other issues), the struggle continues.".

Concerning the loss and arising brain drain due to lack of infrastructural development, it said, “we have lost a lot of good brains to more organized and purposeful countries over pittance paid to the academia in Nigeria as well as poor funding of research and patronage of research in our universities that serve as solution centers globally".