The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has decried growing resignations among high-profile professors in public universities who are leaving the country in search of better opportunities abroad.

ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter, Dr Adefemi Afolabi, during a radio programme, Situation Room, in Ibadan, Oyo State, noted that apart from professors’ resignations, recently employed young lecturers were also resigning due to poor salaries and working conditions.

“We don’t work in an ideal environment. How do you reward your intellectuals with so little and still expect them to be happy and continue to work?” he queried.

Afolabi noted that the ongoing strike was triggered by the union’s dwindling trust in the government’s commitment to collective bargaining and its perceived lack of sincerity in addressing the welfare of academic staff in public universities.

He added: “You don’t want to strike, but government policies disrupt livelihoods and survival of lecturers with galloping inflation.

“How can you not trust your own committees and still come up with another committee to review what the last committee did, and then set up yet another expanded committee to meet with the union again?”

According to him, the situation is terrible. “Lecturers are finding it difficult to come to the office due to the high cost of transportation. Those who come cannot concentrate because of many unmet needs,” Afolabi said.

He expressed sadness that the Federal Government had taken ASUU for granted for too long, noting that the union was forced into the warning strike due to its “delay tactics” and disregard for the principles of collective bargaining.

ASUU, on Monday, commenced a two-week warning strike to protest the Federal Government’s failure to fulfil its demands. It said the Federal Government had not shown regard for tertiary education with the way it treats the welfare and conditions of service of its intellectuals in public universities.

The union, however, maintained that it would not abandon the fight to have decent welfare and conditions of service for its members, and would ensure that governments commit adequate funding to the revitalisation of public universities in the interest of the children of the masses.

A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has hailed President Bola Tinubu for his education policies.

Dogara spoke on Thursday at the Federal University of Lokoja, Kogi State, while delivering a Special Public Lecture, titled “Empowering the Future Generation: The Founders’ Vision and Legacy”.

The public lecture was part of the week long activities for the institution’s 9th Convocation.

Dogara said the president deserves commendation, especially for the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which he stressed has given hope to students whose educational dreams would have been cut short for lack of funds.

He said, “Education remains our most powerful weapon against poverty, ignorance and underdevelopment. It is the idea of planting seeds of hope, creating pathways to opportunity, and building a place where talents are refined and human potential is unlocked.

“NELFUND, a programme designed to remove financial barriers to higher education for indigent Nigerian students with interest-free loans, had disbursed N99.5billion to fund tuition and upkeep allowances.

“As we speak, and as part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Mr. President has prioritised inclusivity and equity in access to education.

“We are witnessing the gradual dismantling of systemic barriers, particularly for marginalised groups such as women and persons with disabilities. No one doubts Mr. President’s commitment to ensuring that every young Nigerian, regardless of background, has access to quality education.

“To those who have often wondered why I promote President Tinubu s education policies, you have found one of the answers. Why would any sensible person who has benefited immensely from education do otherwise?”

He enjoined the graduands to take advantage of their knowledge to solve Nigerian problems, urging them to develop a global mindset with local relevance.

“Think globally but act locally. While embracing international best practices, never forget your roots. The solutions to Africa’s problems must be African-led, though globally informed.

“Whether you become engineers, doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs or public servants, always ask: How can I apply global knowledge to solve local problems?” he said.

He also tasked them to seek innovation and entrepreneurs, embrace lifelong learning, commit to ethical leadership and be good stewards for the university.

PUNCH Online had earlier reported that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund had approved a final reopening for a period of hours to enable tertiary institutions yet to complete their student verification exercise to do so.

This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on by Director, Strategic Communications of the Fund, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.

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The Federal Government, in partnership with the European Union, on Thursday inaugurated a National Programme Steering Committee to oversee the €40 million Education and Youth Empowerment in Northwest Nigeria programme.

The programme, which is being implemented in Jigawa, Kano, and Sokoto States, aims to tackle out-of-school children, facilitate teacher development, and promote youth skills acquisition in the Northwest region.

The committee, chaired by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and co-chaired by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, will meet annually to provide strategic guidance, with a secretariat handled by the EU Technical Assistance Team.

Also, quarterly technical meetings are planned to monitor progress closely.

Speaking in Abuja, during the official inauguration of the committee, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Abel Enitan, praised the EU’s unwavering partnership and investment in Nigeria’s education sector, which has continued to improve access, equity, quality, and system resilience.

The Permanent Secretary, represented by the Director of Poly Education and Allied Institutes, Dr Usman Ejeh, said, “The EYEPINN project represents one of the most strategic interventions aimed at addressing the persistent challenges of out-of-school children, teacher capacity development, safe learning environments, and skills acquisition for youths in Nigeria’s Northwest region.

“The EU’s continued support through programmes such as EYEPINN and Expand, Integrate and Strengthen Systems reflects a shared commitment to empowering our young people and ensuring that every child, irrespective of gender or background, has the opportunity to learn and thrive.”

Highlighting the committee’s role in ensuring accountability and integrating results into national policies, he added, “The committee serves not only as a platform for oversight, but also a forum for strategic dialogue to ensure that the collective efforts of all partners are coherent, complementary, and impactful. The success of EYEPINN depends on how well we collaborate, federal, state, and local governments, working hand-in-hand with our international partners.

“We must ensure that every Euro invested translates into measurable impact, better learning outcomes, empowered teachers, safer schools, and a more resilient education system that leaves no child behind.”

In her remarks, Team Leader, Human Development, European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Leila Ben Amor Mathieu highlighted the programme’s significance as the delegation’s first standalone education initiative.

“This is the EU Delegation to Nigeria’s first project solely on education. It is our flagship project. We hadn’t had any before. We really wanted it to be designed in tune with the ministry and to serve the needs of Nigerian people,” she said.

Stating that the EU is committed to remaining a very strong partner to Nigeria, as shown in its commitment for the period of 2021-2027, she said, “We have about €800 million for that period only on national programmes, plus another several hundreds that benefit Nigeria, but out of regional programme windows.”

Stating that the project aims to address existing gaps in basic education, she said, “This is a €40 million project that we fund through UNICEF, Plan International, DIME, and also some technical assistance provided to the ministry. We would have loved to add secondary education, but we stopped at basic education, in particular, targeting out-of-school children and nomadic education. We worked with the Quranic schools.”

Confident that the project should start delivering results, she added, “So, now we should start to see results and be able to deliver results. We have our partners from the World Bank that are also in charge of checking the impact of what we do.”

UNICEF’s Chief of Education, Vanessa Lee, described the programme as timely, “It came at a critical time in Nigeria’s education reform progress to support both the Federal and the State Ministries of Education and Universal Basic Education Board and State Universal Basic Education Boards in transforming the education system.”

Stating UNICEF’s continued commitment to getting every child learning in Nigeria, she added, “We continue to lead and support in the area of digital data transformation, education financing, reducing the number of out-of-school children, especially through establishing integrated Quranic centres and learning centres, scaling up foundational literacy and numeracy with the government, and providing teachers with school-based professional learning and learning through play teacher professional learning.”

Country Director of Plan International, Dr Charles Usie, lauding the EU’s broad support across Nigerian sectors, including education, health, said, “Today is a special day for the EU and for all of us because what this programme has done is actually to bring hope to a lot of children who probably will still have been left on the streets, with no support and with no help.”

Country Director, Save the Children International, Duncan Harvey, added, “This is indeed an important step that will encourage and improve the leadership of the overall programme. Every child, no matter their status, no matter where they are living, no matter their gender, ability, or disability, every child deserves the right to quality basic education.”

The Northwest region of Nigeria is currently grappling with a severe educational crisis, marked by a significant number of out-of-school children.

According to recent estimates, approximately 20 million children are out of school in Nigeria, with a disproportionate number coming from the Northwest region.

The region’s educational landscape is plagued by insecurity, poverty, and inadequate educational infrastructure.