By Elizabeth Uwandu
The National Union of Nigerian Students, NUNS, has called on the Federal Government to implement the 26% budgetary requirement for education approved by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, or risk being sanctioned.
This is as the body which comprises students in Nigeria and in the diaspora lamented the decay in the nation’s education system which they say was due to inadequate funding among others things. In a release, Amb. Salahudeen Lukman, NUNS president, explained that "It’s so pathetic that almost none of the over 300 private and public tertiary institutions operate with minimum standard of teaching and learning due to poor funding of the sector. This is evidence of the decay in our system and the patronage of foreign institutions by our political leaders whose children are taken abroad for quality education.
”Also, the inability of our dear nation to fund education properly at least with 26% budgetary allocation as recommended by UNESCO has reduced our institutions to mere glorified secondary schools where students only attend to gain or upgrade ideas instead of learning a profession.
In addition, the poor welfare package and lack of respect for agreement signed with various staff unions in our tertiary institutions by government at all levels also dimmed the zeal of our lecturers to give their best in training young professionals.”
He added that the inability to properly fund education has resulted in insecurity and crimewave. "It is important to note that this has resulted in rising insecurity in our dear nation. So, rather than spend a lion share of the budget on security, Nigeria needs to address insecurity from the source by declaring a state of emergency in our education sector.
Once the level of literacy is higher, insecurity and insurgency drops drastically. As students and stakeholders we have directed the NUNS Directorate of Legal Affairs to immediately commence legal action on education and other ancillary rights against the Federal Government of Nigeria on the need to implement the UN 26% budgetary allocation to the education sector, being a signatory to the UN treaty”
