President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced the cancellation of the automatic deduction of 40 percent from federal universities’ Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Tinubu made this known on Friday at an ongoing 75th Founder’s Day ceremony of the University of Ibadan (UI) in Ibadan.
President Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, said the policy implementation is ill-timed, adding that universities are struggling.
In his speech as the Visitor to the university, Mr Tinubu pledged his commitment to the reform of the nation’s education sector as the bedrock for national development.
He said: “The 40 per cent IGR automatic deduction policy stands cancelled. This is not the best time for such a policy since our universities are struggling.”
In October, the Ministry of Finance notified academic institutions nationwide of its plan to automatically deduct 40 percent from their IGR.
This move, generated mixed reactions, especially from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and other stakeholders.
ASUU had in a statement signed by its national president, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, explained that universities were not revenue-generating agencies, saying that the obligatory fees paid by students were to provide the necessary tools for them to be properly educated.
Also, the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities had written a protest letter to the Federal Government, demanding that the government rescind the plan, adding that the government could not be demanding 40 percent of varsities IGR when it had refused to grant them autonomy.
