By Divine Sam
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticized the Nigerian government’s decision to allocate only 7% of the 2025 federal budget to education, deeming it insufficient for the sector’s improvement.
ASUU argued that this budgetary allocation would not bring meaningful change to the education system, which it describes as stagnant, particularly in public universities. The union emphasized the low salaries and poor working conditions for lecturers, which discourage qualified individuals from joining the academic profession.
ASUU also highlighted the proliferation of private schools, which many Nigerians cannot afford due to high fees.
ASUU pointed out that the 7% allocation, amounting to N3.52 trillion of the total N47.90 trillion budget, falls far below the 15%-20% recommended by UNESCO and the UNFPA for developing nations. The union further criticized the government’s lack of commitment to previous agreements with ASUU, notably the Nimi Briggs-led renegotiated draft agreement, which was never signed by the previous administration.
The union called on President Bola Tinubu’s government to prioritize signing the agreement instead of renegotiating it, warning that the current budgetary policy would negatively impact Nigeria’s university system and could lead to the further commodification of university education.