The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has thrown its weight behind the Federal Government’s directive requiring federal tertiary institutions to publish important financial and institutional information on their websites.

In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, expressed the union’s support for the directive, emphasising the need for transparency and accountability in the management of university resources and affairs.

The directive, the ASUU President said, has its ‘backing 100 per cent’.

The Federal Government had directed all 203 federal tertiary institutions to publish key financial and institutional data on their websites by May 31.

The Guardian reports that as of June 2, only two out of 72 federal universities had fully complied with the directive.

A sample of 41 major institutions revealed that only 3 per cent had fully complied, while 97 per cent had not.

The directive aimed to promote transparency and accountability in the tertiary education sector by requiring institutions to disclose data such as yearly budgetary allocations, research grants, endowment funds, current TETFund allocation as well as breakdowns of students’ populations.

In a statement in April, Education Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa stated that this move would uplift the integrity and global competitiveness of Nigeria’s education sector.

The 41 sampled federal universities were categorised into four levels of compliance: fully complied, substantially complied, partially complied, and zero compliance.

It was observed that while two of the institutions fully adhered to the directive, three substantially complied, 22 partially complied, and 14 had zero compliance.

Specifically, out of the sampled size, only the University of Benin (UNIBEN) and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi (ATBU), ticked all the boxes by fully complying with the directive, while the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Bayero University, Kano (BUK), and Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE) have substantially complied.

Institutions with zero compliance as of the time of filing this report include the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT); Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA); Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMINNA); Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), among others.

In a chat with The Guardian, Prof. Piwuna tasked VCs to ensure full compliance with the directive, emphasizing the importance of transparency and accountability in the governance of tertiary institutions.

He said: “When it comes to issues that involve transparency, government will have our backing 100 per cent. We don’t have any problems in asking universities to open their books for public scrutiny. We encourage it, we support it.

“This initiative is one that we support fully. However, universities, Vice-Chancellors, should respond so that the public will know what’s going on”.

The union leader recalled that it has long advocated for transparency, including demands for an audit through visitation. He also noted that ASUU had, in the past, embarked on a strike to push for oversight in universities, underscoring its commitment to accountability.

According to the academic, some universities have secured research grants, stressing that publicly disclosing the data would enhance their rankings and other benefits.

“So, we believe that those websites should be up and running. We also want to know; we don’t want to be in the dark. And with attempts of government now to even seek new changes in funding research, so you can’t be given more money and not get any report or value for the money,” he said.

“We encourage Vice-Chancellors who have not made their financial standing clear to do so. It’s something that we encourage strongly.”