Education

Ex Unilag VC – 239 first-class lecturers quit UNILAG over poor pay

Published

1 year ago

August 27, 2025

No fewer than 239 first-class graduates of the University of Lagos, employed as lecturers, left the institution within seven years.

Immediate past Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking as guest lecturer at The PUNCH Forum, themed: “Innovative Funding of Functional Education in the Digital Age,”

Reeling out statistics, Ogundipe said UNILAG retained 256 first-class graduates as lecturers between 2015 and 2022, but only 17 remained in the institution’s employ as of October 2023.

He attributed the mass exodus to poor remuneration, unconducive working conditions, and low motivation among lecturers.

Ogundipe said, “At UNILAG, we decided that those with first-class honours should be employed. What is remaining is not up to 10 per cent. All of them have gone. One day, I asked the man in charge to give me this information.

“In 2015, 86 were employed; in 2016, 82; during my time, that is, 2017 to 2022, 88 were employed. As of October 2023, only 17 were on the ground. They have gone. Very soon, in the next 10 years, you will have only females in the universities if something is not done.”

He noted that unless the government adequately funds the sector, universities would, in the next decade, be dominated by women, while poorly prepared candidates would gain entry into postgraduate programmes.

“Many of us are tired. By the time you get home, there is no light, and the Federal Government is saying they are giving us N10m to access as loans. You can see how our lives have been devalued. Can I use N10m to build a security post?

“How do you encourage them? Many of our colleagues, especially the young ones, are tired. The unfortunate thing is that two things will happen in the universities soon. Women will be the ones to occupy universities, like we have in secondary schools. Second, the calibre of people who will come for postgraduate studies will be people who are not supposed to come,” he added.

Ogundipe lamented chronic underfunding of the education sector, noting that both federal and state allocations had consistently remained below 10 per cent, far short of UNESCO’s recommended 15 to 26 per cent.

He urged legislators to enact a law mandating that each first-generation university receive at least N1bn annually to address decayed infrastructure.

According to him, many universities are forced to rely on Internally Generated Revenue, which ought to be channelled into research.

Ogundipe, who is also Pro-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, lamented that infrastructure, technology, teachers’ remuneration, research support, and digital facilities in universities were either overstretched or completely absent.

“In the period from 2015 to 2025, Nigeria’s education sector has faced tremendous fiscal restraint. Federal budget allocations — even after headline increases in absolute naira terms — have consistently remained below 10 per cent, and most years hover between 4.5 and 7.5 per cent.

“The consequences of chronic underfunding are immediate and profound: Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children worldwide, estimated at between 10 and 22 million. Over 60 per cent of primary education funding is absorbed by teacher salaries, often with little left for capital expenditure or innovation,” he said.

Ogundipe advocated innovative funding strategies beyond government allocations, including public-private partnerships, alumni endowments, philanthropy, education bonds, optimising digital platforms, and linking funding to measurable outcomes.

He said, “UNESCO positions innovative financing as a critical tool for bridging the nearly $100bn annual financing gap impeding educational attainment in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

“Innovative mechanisms for education include shared risk/reward models for infrastructure, investors repaid only if outcomes are achieved, risk capital to support EdTech and innovative schools, leveraging the Nigerian diaspora for targeted investments, debt swaps for education, education technology grants, corporate donations, and capacity-building linked to business and reputation.”

While urging state and Federal Governments to raise allocations, he also identified critical roles for the private sector, alumni, civil society, faith-based organisations, and donor agencies.

“The private sector should see education support not just as social responsibility but as enlightened self-interest in building the workforce, the talent, and the markets of tomorrow. Invest not only in infrastructure, but in people, curricula, and research that advance national development.

“To alumni, home and abroad, remember that the institutions that made you now need you. Give, mentor, endow, advise, and advocate for your alma mater and the next generation.

“To civil society and faith-based groups, continue to be the vanguards of inclusion, equity, and grassroots school transformation. To the Nigerian media, lead the narrative, demand reforms, report boldly and analytically, and make education funding a national priority.

“To international and donor agencies, partner with us, but let us increasingly build our domestic resource mobilisation and institutional resilience. Above all, to every Nigerian, let us see education as the most sacred trust we must pass to our children. Our fingerprints, our footprints, our names should be found in the library buildings, the digital labs, the scholarships, and the lives changed,” Ogundipe said.

PUNCH management staff at the forum included Executive Director, Business Development and Innovation, Mrs Valerie Omowunmi Tunde-Obe; Chairman, Editorial Board, Mr Obafemi Obadare; General Manager, Production, Mr Olayinka Popoola; and Manager, Advertisement, Mrs Mary Ubani.

Also in attendance were the Editor, PUNCH Digital, Mr Lekan Adetayo; Deputy Editor, The PUNCH, Mr Tana Aiyejina; Associate Editor, News, Dr Ramon Oladimeji; and Head of Training, PUNCH Media Foundation, Mr Dele Aina.

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Education

How Nigerians can apply for 2027/2028 UK commonwealth scholarship – FG

Published

4 days ago

September 15, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The Federal Ministry of Education has invited qualified Nigerian university graduates to apply for the 2027/2028 Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowship Plan, with applications closing on October 20, 2026.

The scholarship notice was shared by the Lagos State Scholarship Board.

The scholarships, which are tenable in the United Kingdom, are available for a one-year taught Master’s programme or doctoral studies of up to three years.

The notice was issued by the ministry’s Department of Scholarship Awards, formerly known as the Federal Scholarship Board, and signed by the Director Overseeing the Office of PSE, Dr Folake Olatunji-David, for the Minister of Education.

According to the notice, applicants for the Master’s category must have a first degree with at least a Second Class Upper Division.

For doctoral studies, applicants are required to possess a relevant Master’s degree in addition to at least a Second Class Lower Division in their first degree.

Applicants for both categories must have secured admission into at least two UK institutions.

Doctoral applicants are also required to provide a supporting statement from a prospective supervisor at their chosen UK institution.

The ministry further listed evidence of participation in the National Youth Service Corps among the eligibility requirements.

The notice stated that the selection process would focus on three key areas.

“Applications will be assessed on Academic merit, Development impact on completion and Quality of Study plan,” it said.

How to apply

The notice said all applications must be submitted through the Electronic Application System.

Applicants are required to register on the EAS portal and complete the application form online.

They must also upload scanned copies of their passport photographs, university academic transcripts, birth certificates and admission letters received from a UK institution listed in the application form.

Completed applications must be submitted online on or before October 20, 2026.

After submitting the application, candidates are required to create a PDF version of the completed form, download and print one hard copy for submission at the interview venue.

The notice said foreign certificates must be accompanied by official translation and evaluation.

It also advised applicants to consider Nigeria’s developmental priority areas relevant to their fields of specialisation when preparing their study proposals.

The priority areas include education; health; economic growth and the private sector; governance and conflict; climate and environment; water and sanitation; engineering; science and technology; food and nutrition; and humanitarian disasters and emergencies.

The ministry also advised prospective applicants to ensure that their proposed studies align with Nigeria’s development needs.

Prospective applicants were advised to consult the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission website for further information on the scholarship and selection criteria.

Further enquiries may be directed to the Director, Department of Scholarship Awards, through fsb@education.gov.ng, 09124516750 or 09082454557.

Application portal: https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/scholarships-results/?wpv_view_count=13930&wpv-cscukscholarshipcountry=nigeria&wpv_filter_submit=search

Source: punchng.com

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Education

NELFUND: ‘A Child Should Be Able To Graduate Without Being Buried In Debt’ – Atiku Fires Tinubu’s Aide

Published

6 days ago

September 13, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has slammed the Special Assistant on Social Media to President Bola Tinubu, Olusegun Dada, over a remark that he hates NELFUND and wants it cancelled.

It was reports that Dada, in a post via 𝕏, said Atiku does not believe that the child of a nobody should have access to education.

He wrote: “Mr @atiku hates NELFUND and wants to cancel it because he does not believe the children of the poor should have access to education.”

Responding to Dada, Atiku, in a statement through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, via 𝕏 assured that he is not opposed to the education of poor children.

Atiku said he only opposes turning education into a debt trap after the government first allowed fees to skyrocket.

The former Vice President said he wants poor children to graduate without being buried in debt.

The post read, “@DOlusegun, this is simply dishonest. Atiku does not oppose education for poor children. He opposes turning education into a debt trap after the government first allowed fees to skyrocket.

“Imagine a widow selling food by the roadside to send her daughter to university. The government raises the fees beyond what she can afford, then tells the daughter to borrow the money and begin adult life in debt.

“That is not compassion. Atiku’s position is clear: make education affordable again, restore scholarships and grants, and ensure that a child’s future does not begin with a loan burden.

“The child of nobody should not only enter school, that child should be able to graduate without being buried in debt.”

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Education

ASUU threatens nationwide strike over unpaid salaries, agreement

Published

1 week ago

September 11, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has threatened to resume its suspended nationwide strike if the federal government and state governments fail to urgently address outstanding issues affecting university lecturers.

ASUU said it could reactivate the strike “without any further notice” over the incomplete implementation of the December 2025 agreement, payment of the remaining 3.5 months of withheld salaries and non-remittance of billions of naira deducted from lecturers’ salaries.

The union’s position was contained in a statement sent to our correspondent in the early hours of Friday by its President, Christopher Piwuna, after an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council held at the University of Abuja.

ASUU said the December 2025 agreement followed more than eight years of negotiations and struggles but had not been fully implemented by the Federal Government and several state governments.

“Unless immediate and concrete steps are taken to FULLY and COMPREHENSIVELY address issues bordering the welfare and well-being of Nigerian academics, ASUU-NEC will not accept any blame for calling out its members on a nationwide strike action within the shortest time possible,” the union warned.

It commended Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, and the governments of Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno for commencing implementation of the agreement.

The union said Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa had also pledged to commence implementation in September or October, while warning other states to act before their universities were plunged into an “industrial crisis of monumental proportions.”

On withheld salaries, ASUU acknowledged that the Tinubu administration had paid four of the 7.5 months withheld during the Buhari administration but demanded the immediate release of the outstanding 3.5 months.

“We have consistently acknowledged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for paying four (4) out of the withheld salaries. However, leaving out the unpaid balance does not give his government the full credit of a labour-friendly administration,” it said.

ASUU also alleged that pension contributions, cooperative deductions and union check-off dues running into billions of naira had remained unremitted for several months.

The union warned that the combination of unpaid salaries, unremitted deductions and poor implementation of the agreement was threatening industrial peace in the universities.

“In no mistaken terms, ASUU posits that the non- or haphazard implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement by federal and state governments is a recipe for industrial crisis in Nigeria’s public universities,” it stated.

It urged the Federal Government and state governments to act quickly, insisting that it would not accept responsibility if the suspended strike was reactivated.

“ASUU-NEC resolved to notify all concerned that the Union may activate its suspended strike action without any further notice if the critical issues raised in this release are not speedily addressed,” the union said.

Source: punchng.com

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