The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, says it has uncovered conflicting details in allocation to the education sector in the 2016 budget of the Federal Government.
Dr. Beke Sese, Zonal Chairman of ASUU, Port Harcourt Zone, spoke in Yenagoa during the zone’s press conference on “the insensitivity and failure of government to address key issues affecting the union, that may threaten industrial peace and stability in universities.”
Sese pointed out that ASUU’s analysis of the budget showed that in the abridged version of the document, education got the sum of N368.6billion for recurrent expenditure with N37billion for capital expenditure while the detailed version indicated that the sum of N446.7billion was allocated to the whole sector with the capital unchanged.
“We have analysed the 2016 budgetary allocation to education and have came up with following conclusions:
“There are discrepancies between appropriation bill and the details of the appropriation. The abridged version indicated that N368.6billion was allocated to the sector for recurrent, and N37billion for capital.
“The detailed version (of the budget) showed that N446.7billion was allocated to the entire sector for recurrent and the capital remained the same.”
He said governments had demonstrated lack of political will, adding that it was unfortunate that the 2009 agreement FG signed with ASUU was still pending.
Other areas of concern to ASUU, Sese stated, included government’s reluctance to implement earned academic allowances to lecturers, non-payment of staff salaries, pension for university academic staff and compulsory retirement age, arbitrary removal and appointment of Vice Chancellors and re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement.
On the Treasury Single Account (TSA) adopted by the Federal Government, Sese argued that the policy was undermining the autonomy of universities as it had made it difficult for institutions to discharge their core responsibilities of teaching, research and community services, among others.
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