ASUU's Demands Unrealistic, Says Ezekwesili

A former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, on Sunday said that the demands by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) were unrealistic in light of the current economic situation in Nigeria. Ezekwesili said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan while reacting to the ongoing strike embarked upon by the union.

The former minister said that lasting solution to the crisis bedevilling the education sector could only be found from strong analysis of the issues raised by ASUU and evidenced based policies. According to her, a structural and policy change which allows public and private investments should be integrated into the university system.

“Money is not limitless and yet everyone must acknowledge that investment in education is crucial and it is key. There are, however, some fundamental reforms that the sector needs in order to ensure that it is not about the size of the funding but about the productivity of the funding. You cannot simply express a desire, it must be founded on reality and that means you must know what can be achieved within a given period,” she said.