Katsina Govt, ASUU Feud Over Cut In Varsity Overhead Cost

A dispute has erupted between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University (UMYU) and the Katsina State Government over the reduction of the university’s monthly overhead cost from N16 million to N7 million.

The state’s commissioner for technical and vocational education, Prof Abdul Hamid Ahmed, has defended the cut, stating that it was a policy inherited from the previous administration. But, ASUU has vowed to resist the decision, insisting it will cripple the university’s operations and undermine academic excellence.

The ASUU chairperson of the institution, Murtala Kwara, while briefing journalists at the UMYU students’ centre said the institution is faced with severe financial challenges, adding that the university, like other public institutions in the country, could no longer sustain itself with the meagre funds allocated to it by the state government.

In response, the commissioner, Abdulhamid Ahmed, while briefing some journalists, said, “Just to be clear, the current monthly overhead of N7 million for Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was inherited from the previous administration of the state. Therefore, the current administration, led by Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, PhD, did not reduce the overhead for Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University or any other institution in the state.

“The administration received no complaints or requests to increase the University’s monthly overhead. Therefore, the Union is raising concerns about the reduced and inadequate overhead, which the University management should address.

“It is important to note that the government of Katsina State is promptly paying the staff of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University Earned Academic Allowance (EAA). As a result, it stands tall against all the public universities in the country in that respect.”

He then expressed commitment to advancing education in the state to ensure the university competes with any other institution of higher learning in the country.