Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has said that university education is not meant for everybody, Newsflash Nigeria learnt.
Umahi, who is also the Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum made this assertion on Wednesday when he received a delegation from the Nigerian Police Trust Fund by Dr Ben Akabueze, in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
The governor noted that it is unreasonable for the Federal Government led by the President Muhammadu Buhari to borrow over N1 trillion to meet the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
Umahi’s assertion comes in the backdrop of the ongoing industrial action by lecturers at the nation’s varsities.
Recall that the Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU strike has lasted for over five months and is still counting.
Umahi, who said Nigeria’s education system was not properly articulated, added that the basic education any nation strived to attain was secondary or vocational education.
The governor observed that education and security were the most challenging problems bedevilling Nigeria.
Umahi said on Wednesday, “Our basic problems in this country remain security, health and education. Let me say a little about education which is in our public domain and which is the ASUU. I think that our education system is not being properly articulated.
“University education is not for everybody and that is the truth.
“The basic education every country strives to attain is a secondary school and vocational schools.
“These are the basic schools and when you have these qualifications, you will able to use it either to start up something or to be able to use it to be employed.
“There is a need to review our educational system. It mustn’t be for everybody. I am not ashamed that I have a first degree and my deputy is a PhD holder; it doesn’t matter.
“It is what you bring on board. So, I cannot see how we cannot sit down with our ASUU leaders and iron out this problem about the ongoing strike.
“I have read on social media, and newspapers how students got into trouble just by sitting at home or engaging in means of keeping themselves busy instead of being in schools.
“There is no way Nigeria will go and borrow N1.1tn to meet ASUU’s demand, it’s quite unreasonable. Are their demands genuine? Yes. But we can start little by little.
“There must be a commitment on the side of both parties that look, ”ASUU is not asking for this to take to their houses” so to say. It’s asking for it for our children, to better the infrastructure, to better the lecturers and the students. Yes, but we can start with a fraction of that and then have a programme that will run on the platform of sincerity to address all the lots.
“But let me also say that most of the time, our people have a low appetite for maintenance of public works. No matter how much you deploy to these universities unless the users and the industry regulators begin to treat public infrastructure as their own in the various universities, it will continue to go bad.
“So, it is important for ASUU to show some understanding and for those who are negotiating on the side of government to also show some understanding. Let’s meet ourselves halfway and then open the schools to save the fate of our children.”
