ASUU Lists Causes Of Poor Education

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), says lack of conducive learning environment and research centres contribute to the low quality of graduates being produced by the nation’s tertiary institutions.

ASUU President,  Dr Nasir Fagge, said this recently while speaking to journalists.

Fagge said it was not surprising that employers of labour had begun to discover that many graduates were not employable.

He said that lack of basic facilities in the tertiary institutions had continued to pose great challenges to the quality of graduates stressing that “ASUU has over the years emphasised the need for the Federal Government to fund universities adequately and provide conducive learning environment in all our tertiary institutions.

He said  “it is not surprising that employers of labour are now identifying the problems adding that “Our students do not have access to research centres, books, journals and facilities to make them better graduates,”

Fagge also blamed the multinational companies for not investing in the nation’s education sector.

He also noted that the private sector in Nigeria had failed the education sector by not investing in it as their counterparts in the developed world have been doing.

Fagge said that lack of massive investment in research centres by companies had contributed to inadequate research funding.

He said, however, that primary and secondary education should be improved to provide solid background for students before they proceed to the tertiary institutions.

The ASUU president also called for synergy between the institutions and multinational companies on possible partnership to develop the education sector.

He said that the association would organise a national summit on education by the end of the second quarter of 2013 to discuss issues affecting the sector stressing that “All stakeholders—parents, students, heads of industries, academics, and government representatives— will come together to x-ray problems in the sector.

“He said the union will come up with possible solutions to the increasing challenges facing education,“

He said that issues to be x-rayed at the summit would include curriculum review, funding, research centres and manpower shortage.