Education
Senators in closed door meeting with ASUU to avoid complete shut down of varsities
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The Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund met behind closed doors with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in a tense session that laid bare decades of neglect, broken promises, and mounting anger within the nation’s university system.
The high-stakes meeting, chaired by Senator Mohammed Dandutse Muntari (Katsina South), brought ASUU face-to-face with lawmakers in a bid to avert a full-blown academic shutdown as the union’s two-week warning strike bites deeper.
ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, lambasted the Federal Government’s failure to honour agreements and fund tertiary education adequately, declaring that Nigerian lecturers are now the poorest paid in Africa.
“A professor in South Africa earns ₦6 million monthly, in Ghana ₦1.5 million but in Nigeria, a full professor earns less than ₦500,000,” he said bitterly. “Our salaries can’t attract serious scholars from anywhere. Even colleagues in Uganda and Zimbabwe earn far more. This is a national disgrace.”
The Union warned that the country’s best brains are fleeing to foreign universities due to poor pay and unbearable working conditions, leaving behind a hollow system struggling to sustain itself.
Professor Piwuna accused the government of “deliberate neglect” of the 2009 Agreement, which has been due for renegotiation since 2012.
He revealed that a new draft agreement completed in December 2024 by the Alabi Aira-led Committee was ignored until the union commenced strike action.
“We’ve been patient, but patience has its limits,” he said. “The government only remembers us when we down tools. That’s not how nations grow.”
The Union also demanded the payment of three-and-a-half months’ withheld salaries, unremitted pension deductions, and the release of ₦50 billion revitalization funds currently “trapped” at the Ministry of Education.
“The Senate appropriated that money for universities, not for colleges or polytechnics,” ASUU stated. “The Ministry is playing politics with education. We want the Senate to compel them to release it immediately.”
ASUU further raised alarm over what it described as an attempt by the FCT Minister to seize portions of the University of Abuja’s land, originally allocated for academic and agricultural use.
“That land is crucial for research, expansion, and innovation,” the union warned. “If the Minister succeeds, he would be choking the future of education in the capital.”
Reacting, Senator Olubiyi Fadeyi condemned the deterioration in Nigerian universities and backed the lecturers’ outcry.
“We are all products of Nigerian universities, and what we see today is heartbreaking,” he said. “ASUU’s demands are not unreasonable. What’s unacceptable is government’s habit of signing agreements and abandoning them.”
Committee Chair Senator Muntari assured the union that the Senate would not fold its arms while universities crumbled.
“You cannot teach when your stomach is empty,” he admitted. “We will engage the Executive and ensure these issues are addressed once and for all.”
ASUU declared that the industrial action could be called off within 24 hours if the government demonstrated genuine commitment to resolving the crisis.
“We don’t want students at home or parents losing sleep,” the union said. “Give us reason to believe, and we’ll end this strike immediately.”
However, the lecturers insisted that without real reforms not political promises peace in Nigerian universities would remain an illusion.
The National Youth Service Corps has warned prospective corps members that they will not be mobilised for national service without obtaining clearance from the National Electronic Registration Database (NERD).
The warning comes as the scheme continues preparations for the mobilisation of a fresh batch of prospective corps members, while also intensifying efforts to ensure their safety during orientation camp journeys.
In a public notice shared on its official X account on Monday, the NYSC declared that NERD clearance is now compulsory for all prospective corps members.
The scheme urged prospective corps members to complete the process early to avoid delays in mobilisation.
It also cautioned that failure to obtain the clearance could delay mobilisation into the national service programme.
“This is to inform PCMs (Prospective Corps Members) that without NERD clearance, no NYSC. Get your NERD clearance early. Avoid delays in your mobilisation.”
Reiterating the mandatory nature of the requirement, the NYSC stated, “NERD clearance is compulsory for all PCMs. No NERD clearance, No NYSC!!!”
Although the scheme did not provide additional details about the clearance process in the notice, the directive signals a stricter verification regime as preparations continue for the next orientation exercise.
The latest advisory comes barely hours after the NYSC announced the mobilisation of another batch of prospective corps members for the 2026 Batch ‘B’ service year, urging institutions and eligible graduates to complete all necessary documentation ahead of the orientation exercise.
It also follows another recent safety advisory by the scheme in which prospective corps members were warned against travelling at night to orientation camps.
The NYSC advised them to break their journeys whenever necessary and lodge in safe locations or designated military and security formations where available, rather than risk travelling after dark.
The renewed advisories reflect the scheme’s efforts to improve both the integrity of its mobilisation process and the safety of prospective corps members, amid growing security concerns on Nigerian highways.
With mobilisation activities gathering pace, prospective corps members are expected to complete all required registration and verification procedures, including the newly emphasised NERD clearance, before reporting for orientation camp.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the top scorers in the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), with a candidate seeking admission into the University of Lagos emerging as the overall best performer.
The announcement was made on Monday during the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions to Tertiary Institutions held in Abuja.
According to JAMB Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, the highest scorer in this year’s examination is Owoeye Jesudunsin, an indigene of Ekiti State who sat for the examination in Ogun State.
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Jesudunsin scored 372 out of the possible 400 marks and applied to study Medicine and Surgery at the University of Lagos.
Her score falls just three points short of the highest UTME score recorded in 2025, when Chinedu Okeke from Anambra State scored 375.
Coming second in the 2026 rankings is Ikenna Enwere from Imo State, who scored 370. He selected Nile University as his first-choice institution and intends to study Computer Science.
Ayomide Bamisile from Ondo State followed closely with a score of 369. He applied to study Software Engineering at the Federal University of Technology Akure.
JAMB also released the full list of top-performing candidates during the policy meeting, which brought together heads of tertiary institutions and key stakeholders in the education sector to discuss admission guidelines for the 2026 academic session.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it will hold its 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions on Monday, May 11, where key decisions, including the minimum Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) cut-off marks for the 2026/2027 academic session, will be determined.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by JAMB’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin.
According to him, the meeting will take place at the Body of Benchers Auditorium, Plot 688, Institute and Research District, FCC Phase III, Jabi, Abuja.
Benjamin added that key policy directions will be unveiled by the Minister of Education, Maruf Olatunji Alausa.
He said, “The Board’s annual policy meeting on admissions is a crucial annual gathering where stakeholders decide minimum tolerable UTME marks, admission guidelines, and policies for tertiary institutions.
“Furthermore, the meeting is expected to, in particular, formally set the tone for the 2026/2027 admission exercise while impressing it on attendees the need to adhere strictly to stipulated guidelines.
“Attendees at the 2026 meeting would include critical stakeholders such as vice-chancellors, rectors, provosts, registrars and their admission officers.
“Others are regulatory bodies ranging from the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), to the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), among others.”
The statement also noted that goodwill messages are expected from agencies including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and other stakeholders.
Benjamin disclosed that the event will feature the 6th edition of the National Tertiary Admissions Performance-Merit Awards (NATAP-M), aimed at promoting compliance with admission guidelines and improving standards in tertiary education.
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