Education
Lecturers Using their Blood to Sustain the Remains of Public Varsities
By Oludayo Tade
The country is hard. Nigerians are not smiling. The harsh social-economic realities are hard-hitting. When Mr President announced that subsidy was gone, it actually meant GUNshot for many people who are still nursing the unending wounds from that policy declaration.
As Nigerians battle to survive, the president and his team said they inherited a bad economy from their own government.
That is, All Progressive Congress Muhammadu Buhari handed over a bad economy to another APC leader; the lion of bourdillon, Omo Olodo-Ide and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.From this proclaimed inherited bad economy, the ruling class have managed to get the best things of this world for themselves. The meaning of awalokan (it is our turn) that the president said while campaigning is now becoming clearer. The people that constitute the ‘awa’ (We) are those from his primary political group who are being blessed with strategic portfolios. It is in this bad economy that they are able to get money to buy jeeps that can protect them from violent attacks and the violent pot-holes. In this same bad economy, the wife of the president gets something even though ‘our mummy’ claimed her family does not need our money to survive.
The other WE (awa) that the president is attending to are those from his political partnership (the G-5 caucus) which made his presidency possible. They are being given portfolios befitting the contributions they made to the actualization of the Olodo-Ide presidency. The third category of the ‘awa’-tokan (we that it is our turn) are those from the political party of Mr President.
They have earned themselves ministerial appointments, board appointments and heads of agencies. The political actors are living large. The masses are told to keep tightening their belts. In all these, how are the university system and the lecturers coping? Mr President, the university system is under attack by the ruling class. Maybe you don’t know or your aides didn’t bring it to your notice.
Lecturers are using their blood to sustain the remains of the public university. To get courses accredited in many departments in Nigeria public universities by the National Universities Commission (NUC), lecturers in those departments contribute money to prepare for the accreditation because most of these universities don’t release money or the school administrations have also become nonchalant like their political class counterparts. It is very bad in some institutions; door label/tags are paid for by staff. I had a colleague who brought his generating set to school to power his class because he wanted the students to get some things.
After being frustrated by the same system, he resigned and moved to a better place where he is better appreciated for his worth. He would only be coordinating people to earn his living. Some years ago, I could print project materials for students with my money, but today, I no longer do that. If I dare to do that, my dependents will suffer the consequences of that action.
The burden of moving to school with the current price regime due to subsidy removal is killing. You are either teaching or attending meetings throughout the week. Salaries remain constant, expenses keep rising. Those you support with money at the end of the month tell you to help them add to what you pay them but you, as the source, nothing has been added to what you are paid since 2009!
Mr President, lecturers have been on the same salary since 2009. Your predecessors signed agreements with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) but were not faithful to it. As a responsible Union of intellectuals, the Union calls attention of government to the degeneration of things in the public universities and its implications for national growth and development.
Omo Olodo-Ide, the government of Goodluck Jonathan carried out NEEDS assessment of public varsities in 2012. The findings shocked many. The government found that about #1.13trillion naira would be enough to arrest the infrastructural decay.
Only former President Goodluck Jonathan released N200 billion at once. He pledged to release for the succeeding year in tranches quarterly, the Union went on strike when that didn’t happen. Your immediate predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, came on board and literally used military approach and was not committed to education.
Mr President, as I write, the Federal Government owes lecturers billions of naira of earned academic allowances for more than six years. If this is not clear to you, it is the money for doing excess teaching and excess supervision. This happened because Federal Government refused to recruit more lecturers and ASUU struck a deal that those doing more than they ought to do should be compensated until government is able to employ more hands.
While you were campaigning to become President Sir, and we were on strike, your Chief of Staff, then speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, mid-wifed the suspension of the strike, reaching some informal agreements with ASUU. Now that you are in power, with him closest to you, we learnt you want us to sign ourselves into perpetual slavery that we will not be able to fight for our rights again in the future. I don’t want to believe this Sir. Or is it true that a comrade in government is a lost comrade?
Mr President, the lecturing and supervision affected by the strike have been done and the students have graduated but the workers are yet to be paid. Some of our colleagues died in their offices. Some cannot effectively meet societally imposed obligations.
The commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Sir, it may interest you that many universities brought out advertisement for vacant lecturing positions. A few applied. Among those selected, some didn’t pick up the appointment. Those who picked up the employment in some universities did not stay up to three months before they tendered their resignation. They could not believe what they were paid and the volume of workload allocated to them. Those still on the job are waiting for their planned alternative to click before they abandon their institutions to their fate. What then is the sin that lecturers have committed to warrant such treatments?
Someone asked: is it a crime to choose to lecture in a Nigerian university? Mr President, I will be happy if you can also persuade scholars abroad to come and lecture in Nigeria just as you are doing to attract investors to Nigeria. This will let you know how attractive the salary you pay to Nigerian lecturers is to attract scholars to your universities.
Who will come to a place where there is no light to work? Who wants to receive poverty wage? Who will come to where the intellectual community is derided? Which foreign scholar will come to Nigeria to teach six courses and hundreds of students in a classroom that has no public address system? Mr President, there is growing frustration among lecturers and attitude to work is being negatively affected. There is no motivation, salaries have been ceased and/or delayed with no explanations. There are regrets here and there among those who returned to Nigeria after their scholarship abroad.
Shall we then ask those not catered for by Nigeria to be fervent in teaching and research without adequate funding and motivation? Do you expect poorly paid lecturers to use their salaries to carry out researches for your universities to rank among top universities in the world?
Sadly, to appoint lecturers now, Abuja people dictate who should be employed into our universities. My fear is about the future outcomes of what government is (not)doing. As a Yoruba man, you know that the children we fail to train, will sell the infrastructures that we labour to build. You need to invest in people. Invest in Education because those you call developed countries bear that name because of advances in science and technology as a result of their investment in education. Public University needs urgent attention and rescue. The University system is asking you Sir, Mr President, Nìgbàwo, ló máa tó kàn wá (when will it be our turn)?
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The Federal Government has approved N4bn for the payment of allowances to Nigerian students studying abroad under the Bilateral Education Agreement.
The approval follows outcries from the beneficiaries who had lamented that they were being pushed into forced labour and prostitution due to prolonged hardship occasioned by the nonpayment of their allowance by the Federal Government.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed that the fund, representing part of the N8bn budgeted for the programme this year, had been released as the first tranche to address outstanding payments owed to the scholars.
“The Federal Ministry of Finance has approved N4bn to pay the first tranche, and I am working with the Minister of Finance to settle the remaining N4bn. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, they will receive all their allowances for 2025 and 2026.
According to him, efforts are ongoing between both ministries to ensure that all outstanding payments are cleared, with the balance expected to be released within four weeks.
The development follows a disturbing viral video from affected students across countries, including Russia, Serbia and Venezuela, who said delays in stipends spanning over a year had left many struggling to survive, with some resorting to menial jobs while others claimed female students had been forced into prostitution.
The outcry comes barely a year after the Federal Government terminated the scholarship programme and promised to ensure that current students are funded to complete their studies.
In 2025, the minister cited inefficiency and misallocation of national resources as reasons for terminating the programme, following similar complaints from previous beneficiaries.
The programme, established through diplomatic partnerships, had enabled Nigerian students to study in countries such as China, Russia, Hungary, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Serbia.
He explained that the scheme had become unsustainable, noting that the government planned to spend about N9bn on just 1,200 students in 2025.
However, the minister assured that all current beneficiaries of the scheme would continue to receive full government support until they complete their studies and return to Nigeria.
Despite assurances that current beneficiaries would not be affected, several students said they had not received stipends for over two years, leaving them stranded.
In the viral video, about 16 Nigerian scholars in Russia appealed to the government for urgent intervention, describing their situation as dire.
One of the students, a fifth-year medical student in Rostov, said many had been pushed into extreme conditions to survive.
A student leader in Russia, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the development recently, lamenting that the rising cost of living and currency challenges had worsened their situation.
She added that restrictions on student work permits in some countries further limit their ability to earn income.
Another student in Venezuela described the situation as abandonment, noting that scholars from other countries receive regular support from their governments.
He said, “It is only Nigerians that are abandoned. Other countries like Mozambique, Burkina Faso, and Brazil, send delegates to check on their students and pay them, but no one comes from Nigeria.
A parent of an affected scholar, who spoke anonymously with our correspondent, said relevant government agencies had been engaged to facilitate the payment.
“The situation requires prompt attention. These children were sent abroad through a government programme. There have been delays in stipends despite repeated appeals to the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and other agencies.”
The Federal Government had earlier, in January, dismissed claims that Nigerian scholarship students in Morocco were abandoned, following a viral video that showed some students facing hardship, including homelessness and lack of medical support.
The video, shared on X by activist Martins Otse, featured interviews with Nigerian students in Morocco who alleged they had gone for years without receiving financial support despite being beneficiaries of government scholarships.
Reacting, the Federal Ministry of Education, in a statement signed by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, insisted that no student on a valid Federal Government scholarship had been neglected.
Alausa was quoted as saying that all beneficiaries enrolled under the Bilateral Education Scholarship Programme before 2024 had received payments up to the 2024 budget year in line with government obligations.
The statement noted that any delays in outstanding payments were due to fiscal constraints and were being addressed through ongoing engagements between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance.
The Federal Government has approved N4bn for the payment of allowances to Nigerian students studying abroad under the Bilateral Education Agreement.
The approval follows outcries from the beneficiaries who had lamented that they were being pushed into forced labour and prostitution due to prolonged hardship occasioned by the nonpayment of their allowance by the Federal Government.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed that the fund, representing part of the N8bn budgeted for the programme this year, had been released as the first tranche to address outstanding payments owed to the scholars.
“The Federal Ministry of Finance has approved N4bn to pay the first tranche, and I am working with the Minister of Finance to settle the remaining N4bn. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, they will receive all their allowances for 2025 and 2026.
According to him, efforts are ongoing between both ministries to ensure that all outstanding payments are cleared, with the balance expected to be released within four weeks.
The development follows a disturbing viral video from affected students across countries, including Russia, Serbia and Venezuela, who said delays in stipends spanning over a year had left many struggling to survive, with some resorting to menial jobs while others claimed female students had been forced into prostitution.
The outcry comes barely a year after the Federal Government terminated the scholarship programme and promised to ensure that current students are funded to complete their studies.
In 2025, the minister cited inefficiency and misallocation of national resources as reasons for terminating the programme, following similar complaints from previous beneficiaries.
The programme, established through diplomatic partnerships, had enabled Nigerian students to study in countries such as China, Russia, Hungary, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Serbia.
He explained that the scheme had become unsustainable, noting that the government planned to spend about N9bn on just 1,200 students in 2025.
However, the minister assured that all current beneficiaries of the scheme would continue to receive full government support until they complete their studies and return to Nigeria.
Despite assurances that current beneficiaries would not be affected, several students said they had not received stipends for over two years, leaving them stranded.
In the viral video, about 16 Nigerian scholars in Russia appealed to the government for urgent intervention, describing their situation as dire.
One of the students, a fifth-year medical student in Rostov, said many had been pushed into extreme conditions to survive.
A student leader in Russia, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the development recently, lamenting that the rising cost of living and currency challenges had worsened their situation.
She added that restrictions on student work permits in some countries further limit their ability to earn income.
Another student in Venezuela described the situation as abandonment, noting that scholars from other countries receive regular support from their governments.
He said, “It is only Nigerians that are abandoned. Other countries like Mozambique, Burkina Faso, and Brazil, send delegates to check on their students and pay them, but no one comes from Nigeria.
A parent of an affected scholar, who spoke anonymously with our correspondent, said relevant government agencies had been engaged to facilitate the payment.
“The situation requires prompt attention. These children were sent abroad through a government programme. There have been delays in stipends despite repeated appeals to the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and other agencies.”
The Federal Government had earlier, in January, dismissed claims that Nigerian scholarship students in Morocco were abandoned, following a viral video that showed some students facing hardship, including homelessness and lack of medical support.
The video, shared on X by activist Martins Otse, featured interviews with Nigerian students in Morocco who alleged they had gone for years without receiving financial support despite being beneficiaries of government scholarships.
Reacting, the Federal Ministry of Education, in a statement signed by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, insisted that no student on a valid Federal Government scholarship had been neglected.
Alausa was quoted as saying that all beneficiaries enrolled under the Bilateral Education Scholarship Programme before 2024 had received payments up to the 2024 budget year in line with government obligations.
The statement noted that any delays in outstanding payments were due to fiscal constraints and were being addressed through ongoing engagements between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance.
The Federal Government has approved exemption of candidates seeking admission into the National Certificate in Education (NCE) programme with a minimum of four credits from sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Minister of Education, Dr.
Tunji Alausa, announced the policy on Monday in Abuja, at the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).The event also featured the 6th Edition of the National Tertiary Admissions Performance-Merit (NATAP-M) awards.
Alausa said the decision followed consultations with stakeholders aimed at expanding access to teacher education and strengthening enrollment in Colleges of Education (CoE) nationwide.
He explained that eligible candidates would, however, be required to register with JAMB for proper screening, verification and issuance of admission letters through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS).
According to him, the exemption is part of deliberate reforms to harness the admission capacity of colleges of education, particularly within local communities.
“Accordingly, candidates seeking admission into the NCE programme, who possess a minimum of four credit passes, will no longer be required to sit for the UTME.
“However, it is imperative to emphasise that such candidates shall mandatorily register with JAMB, and their credentials shall be duly screened, verified, and certified for the issuance of admission letters thr“In recognition of this reality, the Federal Ministry of Education, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, has taken a deliberate policy position.
ough CAPS, in accordance with extant regulations.”
The minister added that the exemption would also apply to candidates seeking admission into National Diploma programmes in non-technology agricultural and agriculture-related courses.
He said the measure was designed to ease pressure associated with UTME, while encouraging participation in critical sectors essential to national development.
He reiterated that admissions conducted outside CAPS remained illegal and would not be recognised by the government.
He also warned that institutions violating established admission procedures risked sanctions, including suspension of operating licences where applicable.
Alausa reaffirmed the government’s position on 16 years as the minimum admission age into tertiary institutions, noting that the decision aimed at maintaining inclusivity and academic readiness.
He noted that the federal government was implementing wide-ranging reforms in the education sector focused on access, quality, governance and accountability.
He commended JAMB for deploying technology-driven solutions that enhanced fairness and credibility in the admissions process.
He added that efforts were ongoing to deepen inclusion for Persons living With Disabilities through application fee waivers and targeted support initiatives.
“This initiative is not only humane but also a powerful affirmation of our national commitment to equity and equal opportunity.
“The increasing participation of candidates with disabilities in our examinations and admissions processes is clear evidence that when barriers are removed, potential is unleashed,” Alausa said.
The minister further disclosed that the government was advancing digital transformation in education through expanded computer-based testing and integration of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies into curricula.
He said the federal government had equally achieved progress in stabilising the university system, following successful renegotiation of agreements aimed at ensuring uninterrupted academic calendars.
Alausa reaffirmed the government’s commitment to combating examination malpractice through strengthened verification systems and enhanced collaboration among relevant agencies.
He urged stakeholders to uphold integrity and fairness in admissions decisions, noting that outcomes of the policy meeting would affect millions of Nigerian youths seeking tertiary education opportunities.
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