The Federal Government has included N470 billion in the 2023 annual budget to revitalize and enhance salary in the tertiary institutions.
President Muhammadu Buhari made this revelation, Friday while presenting the budget of the year to a joint gathering of the National Assembly.
Buhari revealed that his government has noted “with dismay the crisis that has paralysed activities in the public universities in the country.”
He added that he “expected the staff of these institutions to show a better appreciation of the current state of affairs in the country. In the determined effort to resolve the issue, we have provided a total of 470.0 billion in the 2023 budget from our constrained resources, for revitalization and salary enhancements in the tertiary institutions.”
The Nigerian leader also added that the government alone cannot bankroll tertiary education.
“In most countries, the cost of education is jointly shared between the government and the people, especially at the tertiary level. It is imperative therefore that we introduce a more sustainable model of funding tertiary education.”
He further said that “the government remains committed to the implementation of agreements reached with staff unions within available resources. This is why we have remained resolute that we will not sign any agreement that we would be unable to implement. Individual institutions would be encouraged to keep faith with any agreement reached in due course to ensure stability in the educational sector.”