Ikpeazu, ASUU reject NUC’s new admission policy

• Say it impinges on admission requirement, raising revenue internally
Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has faulted the new policy of the National Universities Commission (NUC) that has centralised admission into the institutions, saying that it impinges on the capacity of the universities to admit the number of the required students.

He also stated that the new NUC policy by which the universities now admit lesser number of students than they needed, especially in key disciplines, negatively affected their capacity to raise revenue internally.

He spoke yesterday when a delegation of the Abia State University (ABSU) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) visited him at the Government House in Umuahia.

Head of the ASUU chapter of the university, Dr. Victor Nkemdirim, had while pleading with the governor to assist the university to source bulk money that would enable it ameliorate the pitiable plight of its members of staff, including increasing monthly subvention to the institution, also urged him to make ABSU a top priority of his administration.

The delegation leader, who also rejected and frowned at the new NUC policy on admission, thanked the governor for redeeming his hitherto N10 million pledge for the union’s secretariat project.

But the governor, rather than agreeing to increase the monthly subvention to the university as canvassed, said he would rather be disposed to considering a bailout fund that would help the institution address some of its pressing needs.

“I am more disposed to and comfortable with a bailout and cannot promise an increase in subvention in view of the prevailing economic reality.

“The government can structure a bailout either from government coffers or through the bank after exiting some commitment/s with the bank”.

Ikpeazu, who stressed that he still took the mainstreaming of the lecturers in the state as top priority, said that he would convene and hold a meeting with the ABSU Vice Chancellor and the state Commissioner for Finance with a view to finding solution to the problems confronting the institution.

In his remarks, the Chapter’s Legal Adviser, Dr. Ase Amaramiro, said the visit was to remind the governor of his earlier promises and plead with him not to let the state-owned citadel of learning sink.