The Yobe State University, Damaturu, has appealed to the federal government to allocate special funds to state-owned universities affected by insurgency under the Needs Assessment Intervention Funds.

The university’s acting vice-chancellor, Bukar Jamri, made the plea when the Implementation Monitoring Committee on the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities paid him a visit in Damaturu on Monday.

Mr Jamri explained that providing special funds to the institutions would accelerate their recovery, cultivate skilled manpower, and drive innovation for nation-building.

He noted that although the state government heavily invested in infrastructure and procurement of equipment at the university, there was a need for such efforts to be augmented by the federal government.

“By supporting these universities, the federal government can help address the peculiar challenges they face and promote quality education in the region,” the vice-chancellor said.

Mr Jamri assured the committee that the university would continue to do its best in improving the quality of research, teaching, and learning in the institution.

In his remarks, the committee’s leader, Emmanuel Osodeke, stated that they were at the institution to monitor its implementation of the Needs Assessment Intervention Funds.

He expressed satisfaction with the infrastructure built at the university and advised that effective mechanisms should be put in place for its maintenance.

Mr Osodeke charged the university’s Budget Monitoring Committee to provide an effective advisory role in the implementation, noting that the fund was a product of negotiations between unions and the federal government to enhance university education.

The committee comprised representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

(NAN)