Wednesday, September 23, 2026

More Nigerian students dropped out of school due to Tinubu’s economic policies: ASUU Chairman

The ASUU chairman said many students have dropped out of school in the past year due to the country’s harsh economic conditions.

• May 21, 2024
STUDENTS
Tertiary students receiving lectures used to illustrate the story( CREDIT: BUSINESSDAY NG)

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Calabar chapter, has expressed concerns over the number of students dropping out of school in the country.

The chapter’s chairman, Peter Ubi, spoke in an interview on Tuesday in Calabar about the achievements of President Bola Tinubu’s first year in office.

He said that a large number of students have dropped out of school in the past year due to the country’s harsh economic conditions.

“More students are dropping out of school following the cost of acquiring education,” said Mr Ubi. “The dropout challenge is affecting all levels of education; many parents are falling below the poverty line.”

Mr Ubi said basic education ought to be free in the country and expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that low-income families faced difficulties sending their children to school.

The chairman said education institutions in the country had lost a huge number of efficient and qualified manpower to migration.

“Young scholars are leaving in search of greener pastures. This challenge is worse in tertiary institutions.

“They will claim to be going for further studies abroad, but we know they are not returning; it is a painful reality,” he said.

Mr Ubi urged the federal government to remove ASUU from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) to save the university system.

“They made us this promise, but nothing has been done about it till today,” he said.

He said lecturers were owed both salaries and promotion arrears, and that the development had dampened their morale.

“We only work to earn a living, not because there is dignity in labour. The nation’s education sector has achieved nothing significant in the past year.

“This is because the budgetary allocation to the sector is still far from the standard recommendation.

“The only thing you see today in most institutions is TETFund-sponsored projects, which were there before the current administration.

”The rate of school dropout and migration won’t be this high if the system was lively and attractive,” he said.

(NAN)

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Andy Burnham

Heading 4

UK women, partners to get two weeks’ bereavement leave after miscarriage from next year

“From April, women and their partners will be entitled to two weeks off after any pregnancy loss,” Mr Burnham said.

Africa

Climate ‌⁠‍‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌Change: 32 million West Africans may become refugees by 2050, says ECOWAS

ECOWAS says 32 million West Africans risk being displaced from their communities due to climate change.

States

Navy recovers 182,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil in Rivers

The Nigerian Navy recovered 182,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil in Rivers.

Economy

Edible ‌⁠‍‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍⁠⁠‍‍‌oil tanker drivers suspend planned strike

NUEOTDN President Ilias Aperun said the decision followed interventions by the federal government and the State Security Service (SSS).

States

Lagos APC governorship candidate Hamzat rallies voters for 2027

Mr Hamzat expressed concern about declining voter participation, noting that of the 6.2 million registered voters in Lagos in the last election, only about 1.2 million voted.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)

Economy

NMDPRA begins consultations on anti-competition regulations in petroleum sector

The proposed regulations are designed to address abuse of dominance and promote fair, non-discriminatory access to essential petroleum infrastructure.