Unless the Oyo State Government rescinds its decision not to provide subventions to tertiary institutions, hopes of indigent students having access to affordable higher education hang in the balance.
The state government in its circular letter with reference number
HCF/CORR.gen./23, dated September 2016, and signed by the Commissioner for Finance and Budget, Mr. Abimbola Adekanmbi, stated that it is unable to continue with the grants or subventions to all the tertiary educational institutions.
The letter goes further to state that government will not release any
fund to the institutions for the payment of arrears or financial
obligations, whether to take care of the past, present or future, as the thrust of the decision of government in this regard.
The affected institutions include Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo, College of Education, Lanlate, College of Agriculture, Igbo-Ora, Ibadan Polytechnic, Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, and the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso.
Staffers of all these institutions are currently on strike over
non-payment of salaries and arrears.
Sequel to the letter, investigation revealed that heads of the
affected institutions not only made representations to the state
government to have a re-think on its decision, leaderships of
staffers’ unions [the Non-Academic Staff, Senior Staff Union and the Academic Staff Union] spoke in the same vein after joint meeting held with top government officials in Ibadan, the state capital.
Globally, tertiary educational institutions require huge financial outlay to be effectively run. Subventions is tripod and falls under three headings namely, Capital [physical and infrastructural
development], Personnel [salaries and allowances], and Running Cost
[settlement of of bills for municipal and ancilliary services].
But the idea of subventions by the state government is assistance to
the institutions in the running of their affairs.
Findings showed that the bulk of physical infrastructures, equipments
and other facilities which had sprung up and continue to spring up in
these state-owned tertiary educational institutions were sponsored and
provided by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund [TETFUND].
But for the intervention by TETFUND, many of the structures would have
suffered avoidable decay, due to state government’s stand on funding
of its tertiary institutions.
However, the situation at the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education,
Oyo, is getting worse over unpaid nine months salaries and arrears.
Investigation showed that some children of the college workers who
were sent out of secondary schools for failure to pay their fees have
become street hawkers in the ancient town.
Similarly, some university undergraduates who were also children of
the college staffers have resulted to begging in order to raise funds
for payment of tuition fees.
Our correspondent met two of the undergraduates, one in part three
studying Geology and the other in part two reading Accounting in the
same university and born by same parents both of who are non-academic
staffers of the college.
These children who wanted to run away on knowing the identity of our
correspondent were sobering with tears as they narrated what they
referred to as their ‘harrowing experiences at home’’.
According to the students who volunteered to talk on condition of
anonymity, ‘’our parents can no longer perform their responsibilities
on us. Due to unpaid salaries and arrears by the state government, we
have been at home for the past eight months idle. Even if three
quarters of the salaries and arrears owed are paid now, the money
cannot be enough for the amount of debts incurred by our parents on
feeding alone. ‘’
‘’We need to pay tuition fees, buy some hand outs, collect foodstuffs
and pockets money before we go to our institutions of learning. All
these cannot be done by our parents. We therefore decided to embark on
begging to further our education. The two of us also embark on
compulsory fasting between hours of 7am and 5pm, so as to reduce costs
of feeding. While the junior ones manage what is available at home. No
one is ready to help at all. To be candid with you sir, life has
become very miserable to us and we don’t want to go into aristo (prostitution) to survive”.
Speaking with our correspondent, Chairman, Senior Staff Union of the
college, Mr. Olusegun Adeniji, and his Non-Academic Staff Union
counterpart, Fatai Adebayo, said workers of the college are being owed
nine and a half months salaries and arrears in the range of
twenty-five percent [January to March, 2016], seventy-five percent
[April to July, 2016], and a hundred percent [August to December,
2016].
According to them, fifty percent of salaries for months of January to
March, 2016 were paid in September, while twenty percent salaries paid
for months of April, May, June and July, 2016.
‘’With twenty-five percent of salary payment policy of government to
its state owned institutions, the college wage is in the region of N45 million. For the institution which is the least paying in the state
to source for 25 per cent which government initially agreed upon after
much pressure before it finally decided to withdraw subventions
completely, let alone the full hundred percent salary for twelve
months, the college will require over N500 million to pay its workers.
Despite this quarter salary payment, full deductions on taxes were
made by the government from the source’’.
The union leaders hinted that since 2011 when Governor Abiola Ajimobi
took over power, full salary payment was received last in December,
2015, while the last capital grant was given to the college in 2009
during the administration of former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala.
‘’Running grants to the college stopped long time ago. Our fixed
charges are meager given the reality of circumstances of the economics
of parents of our students and the prospective ones. With total
removal of subvention now, the college will have no other option but
to shore up its charges of fees as high as about N35,000 per session,
compared to the current charge of about N29,000’’.
Commenting on the development, the Senior Staff Union In Colleges of
Education, Nigeria [SSUCOE], South-West said the decision to stop
subventions to the educational tertiary institutions would not stand
the test of time.
In a release signed by the Union’s South-West Zonal Coordinator,
Comrade Lere Oladapo, and made available to our correspondent,
wondered whether the affected institutions will continue to depend on
TETFUND which had been assisting in the physical and human resources
development through intervention programmes in the running of the
institutions, if grants for capital projects, which is a component of
the subvention is stopped.
Said he ‘’will this not amount to abdication of responsibility on the
part of the state government, as owner of the institutions? To us a
union, the action of government as contained in the circular is
suggestive of an attempt to the affected institutions in the state to
Business concerns, which the government is covertly directing to offer
tertiary education for sale. What baffles the union, however, is the
apparent feigning of ignorance by the state government of what is
required, financially in the running of tertiary educational
institutions’’.
While appreciating the turbulent financial situation of the state, the
uninon stressed the need for the state government to go back to the
drawing board, be realistic and re-think its decision on the stoppage
of subventions.
It warned against deployment of needless unproductive short cuts, fire
brigade and crisis-prone approaches in addressing the challenges of
funding the tertiary educational institutions.
In his reaction, General Secretary, Non-Academic Staff Union of
Educational and Associated Institutions, Mr. Peters Adeyemi, noted
that the state government policy will deny the children of the poor
masses access to tertiary education, as the institutions in their bid
to survive would be compelled to impose levies on the students.
‘’The policy will generate restiveness, lead to brain drain syndrome
as quality manpower would be forced to migrate to seek greener
pastures elsewhere, due to inability of the affected institutions to
provide their needs among other disadvantages. Since the operations of
these institutions are strictly regulated by their external regulatory
bodies, such as NUC, NCCE, and NBTE, which ensure that the
institutions comply with their carrying capacities. To this end, they
will not be allowed to admit students beyond their approved carrying
capacities’’.
The union therefore urged the state government to revisit its
decision, with a view to rescinding same so as not to, in an attempt
to resolve one problem, creates another.