The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), have rejected the federal government’s reported plan to abolish what it described as “irrelevant” courses in Nigerian universities.
Consequently, the University lecturers warned that such a move could damage the country’s intellectual and cultural development, reports Daily Independent.
The union said the proposal, allegedly championed by the Minister of Education, was based on the “erroneous belief” that programmes in the Humanities and Social Sciences contribute to unemployment and youth restiveness.
Speaking during a press conference in Kano, the ASUU Kano Zone argued that disciplines such as Philosophy, Religious Studies, Linguistics and Fine Arts remain vital to national growth and human development.
According to the union, many of the skills now considered essential in the 21st century, including critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration, are deeply rooted in humanities-based education.
“ASUU rejects this unfounded reasoning and insists that every university discipline possesses practical value both for individuals and society,” the union stated.
The lecturers further argued that attributing unemployment to specific academic disciplines amounted to an oversimplification of Nigeria’s economic and governance challenges.
Comrade Abdulkadir Muhammad said countries facing similar youth unemployment problems had focused on linking education with productive economic opportunities rather than arbitrarily scrapping courses.
The union vowed to resist any attempt to abolish academic programmes in Nigerian universities, stressing that it would collaborate with “other pro-people organisations” to oppose policies it considers harmful to the education sector
