The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Calabar chapter, has raised alarms about the increasing number of students dropping out of school in Nigeria due to harsh economic conditions under Chief Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In an interview on Tuesday in Calabar, the chapter’s chairman, Peter Ubi, expressed concerns that many students have discontinued their education over the past year owing to the high costs associated with schooling.
“More students are dropping out of school following the cost of acquiring education,” Mr. Ubi stated. “The dropout challenge is affecting all levels of education; many parents are falling below the poverty line.”
Mr. Ubi emphasized that basic education should be free and highlighted the struggles of low-income families to send their children to school.
He also noted a significant loss of qualified manpower in educational institutions due to migration, with many young scholars leaving for better opportunities abroad under the guise of further studies, often not returning.
“Young scholars are leaving in search of greener pastures. This challenge is worse in tertiary institutions.
“They will claim to be going for further studies abroad, but we know they are not returning; it is a painful reality,” he stressed.
The ASUU chairman called on the federal government to remove the union from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) to help stabilize the university system.
“They made us this promise, but nothing has been done about it till today,” he said.
He pointed out that lecturers are owed salaries and promotion arrears, which has negatively affected their morale.
“We only work to earn a living, not because there is dignity in labour. The nation’s education sector has achieved nothing significant in the past year.
“This is because the budgetary allocation to the sector is still far from the standard recommendation.
“The only thing you see today in most institutions is TETFund-sponsored projects, which were there before the current administration.
”The rate of school dropout and migration won’t be this high if the system was lively and attractive,” he added.
NAN
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