ASUU: Students protest alleged govt insensitivity

Some aggrieved students, under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students, on Thursday took to the streets in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, in protest against the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

The students, who carried placards with different inscriptions, accused the Federal Government of failure to honour the 2009 agreement with ASUU.

They expressed worries that the strike would further worsen the standard of education.

Speaking on behalf of the students, the Director, Action and Mobilisation, NANS, South-West, Asafon Sunday, noted that between 2000 and 2011, the Nigeria government made close to N48.48tn from the sale of oil, against the N3.10tn earned between 1979 and 1999.

He added that the Federal Inland Revenue Service in the 2012 financial year alone made the sum of N5.12tn from tax.

“With this tremendous upswing in the revenue at the disposal of the Federal Government, one would expect such to translate into commensurate improvement in the quality of education as well as other social services,” he said.

He stressed the need for the government to embark on “reasonable budgeting” to education,in line with the UNESCO recommendation of 26 per cent of the total budget to education per year.