By Adadainfo
In a move to end the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, President Muhammadu Buhari, Friday, sought the approval of N470bn in the 2023 budget by the Senate to revitalize tertiary institutions as well as enhance salaries of lecturers.
The president disclosed this during the presentation of the 2023 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.
According to him, the FG could not provide adequate resources to fund tertiary education.
He said, “The government notes with dismay the crisis that has paralyzed activities in the public universities. We expect the staff of these institutions to show a better appreciation of the current state of affairs in the country.
“In our effort to resolve the problem, we provided N470bn in the 2023 budget from our constrained resources for revitalization and salary enhancements in the tertiary institutions.
“In most countries, the cost of education is jointly shared between the government and the people especially at the tertiary level. It is imperative therefore that we introduce a more sustainable model of funding tertiary education.
“Our government is committed to the implementation of agreements reached with staff unions within available resources.
“This is why we have remained resolute that we will not sign any agreement that we would be unable to implement. Individual institutions would be encouraged to keep faith with any agreement reached in due course to ensure stability in the educational sector.
“Recently, we implemented various incentives aimed at motivating and enhancing teachers’ development in our schools.
“Our overall policy thrust is to expand our investment in education, health and social protection.”
