The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has described the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, assertion that striking lecturers should consider farming as an alternative profession, as a reflection of his shallow understanding of the academic profession and a reflection of the low premium that the government he is serving placed on education.
Nwajiuba while participating on a television program had suggested farming to the lecturers, saying that the lecturers cannot dictate how they should be paid to their employers.
Reacting to his comment, ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan, Professor Ayo Akinwole, said the Minister of State has displayed his naivety on educational matters.
According to Professor Akinwole, the scarcity of farmers is a reflection of the failure of the government he is part of, to make farming secure for legitimate farmers.
Akinwole asked the Minister to resign his appointment and take to farming as a worthy national service.
The ASUU boss informed that the Union is unlike the Minister of State who pursue selfish agenda.
He said the Union remained resolute not to pursued only welfare of her members while downplaying the 0infrastructure collapse and underfunding of public universities, but decided to continue to fight parasites who preside over a Ministry where no Nigerian University is in the top one hundred in the world.
Akinwole stated that if the Muhammadu Buhari government is not paying lip service to education , he would not have consistently reduced budgetary allocation and funding to education since assumption of office.
Professor Akinwole stated that public varsity lecturers are owed earned academic allowances from 2013 to date, challenging the Minister of State for Education to declare if he has been owed allowances and how much since he assumed office.
He maintained that available statistics show that salaries of University lecturers are below salaries paid to academics in Polytechnics and Colleges of Education.
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