Poor salary conditions have led to the resignation of 30 university lecturers in Nigeria. Learn how this could affect education quality.
At Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU) in Bauchi State, more than thirty lecturers—all members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)—resigned, with a primary reason being insufficient pay.
At a news conference on Friday at the university’s Yuli Campus, Namo Timothy, the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU Bauchi Zone, disclosed this information.
Timothy voiced worries about the state-owned university, cautioning that poor administration and disregard for the university’s operations, especially the wellbeing of its employees, are posing serious challenges to the institution.
In order to address years of subpar administration, he pleaded with the Bauchi State government to declare an emergency at the university.
“The ASUU branch zone can no longer guarantee industrial harmony between members of the ASUU SAZU branch and the university administration until and unless this is done,” he said.
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He added that attempts to talk with important players about the problems and find a solution had failed.
Timothy also expressed concern over SAZU’s lack of pension and death benefit plans for ASUU members, pointing out that this is typical of other Nigerian state organizations.
He brought up the fact that since 2012, the university administration has been depriving its teachers of almost ₦650 million in Earned Academic Allowance and Excess Workload Allowance.
Furthermore, Timothy took issue with the university’s choice of a Higher National Diploma (HND) holder as bursar, given that the university’s policy stipulates that candidates must hold at least a first degree in order to be considered for the role.
In addition to depressing university employees’ spirits, he said, “this has forced many, including thirty trained PhD holders, to resign and migrate to other institutions where their future is secured.”
The ASUU Coordinator urged the management of the university and the state of Bauchi to put in place a thorough leave strategy that covers staff members’ pensions and death benefits.
