ASUU Laments Dearth Of Lecturers In Public Institutions
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has lamented the dearth of lecturers in public federal institution across the country, saying they have the institutions have shortfall of not less than 40,000 lecturers.
The Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter of the Union, Dr Deji Omole who disclosed this in a statement in Ibadan on Sunday, called for comprehensive medical check-up by various institutions to ascertain the health conditions of their staff.
ASUU called on the federal government to open-up recruitment of academic staff in public federal institutions in order to save overworked lecturers’ from untimely death.
it noted that in the struggle for survival, many lecturers who think they are alright health wise may have death threatening health conditions.
According to ASUU, the health of her members are fast depreciating due to stress occasioned by the failure of the federal government to employ more academics to cope with the number of students admitted.
It explained that while academic staff continue to work in the most dehumanised conditions, the federal government had refused to pay the earned academic allowances from 2011 to date.
It noted that due to poor working environment, job overload and non-approval of leaves as and when due, the union has lost some of its members to death across the nation in 2018.
While reacting to the death of Professor of Exercise Physiology, Olasupo Abass who died at the University of Ibadan, it mourned that the late professor never showed any sign of ailment but suspected he might have died untimely of stress-related death.
“Professor Ademola Abass was an outstanding scholar of the university who was always ready to assist the students and the university system. The vacuum created by his sudden death will be very difficult to fill by the university,” it said.
ASUU noted that due to work-related stress and the bad economic fortunes, lecturers hardly have time to attend to their health creating health complications which ultimately leads to incapacitation and sometimes death.
“Federal government is not only determined to kill the lecturers with stress but also determined to kill university of Ibadan in particular.
“This is being done by deliberately refusing to payroll newly recruited lecturers to replace our dead or retired colleagues even when due processes were followed in the recruitment procedures,” it added.
