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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The management of Kaduna State University (KASU) has rejected claims by the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU-KASU) that more than 200 academic staff have left the institution over poor conditions of service, describing the allegation as misleading.
ASUU-KASU had on Monday issued a two-week ultimatum to the Kaduna State Government over the implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement and other welfare concerns, citing alleged massive staff attrition among its grievances.
But in a statement signed by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdullahi Ibrahim Musa, on Tuesday, KASU management said the movement of academic and non-teaching staff between institutions was a global phenomenon and should not automatically be attributed to poor working conditions.
The university urged the union to present facts objectively and avoid creating unnecessary alarm over staff mobility, while calling on ASUU-KASU to return to negotiations to resolve outstanding issues.
According to the management, KASU’s recent academic, research and institutional achievements contradicted the claim that the university was experiencing widespread loss of academic staff.
It disclosed that three of its researchers — Prof. Ibrahim Inuwa Yahaya of Chemistry, Dr Daniel Yahaya Shagaiya of Mathematics and Dr Abdullahi Yusuf Zuntu of Physics — were among the world’s top two per cent of scientists.
The university also said the Kaduna State Government had invested more than N290 million in resource verification and accreditation of over 90 academic programmes, while KASU researchers had attracted more than £945,000 in research funding in the past three years.
The institution listed several international collaborations established since 2023, including academic cooperation agreements with Benha University and Institut Sains dan Unjuk Kerja (ISUJ), Jakarta.
Other partnerships, according to the management, include a Qur’anic Studies collaboration with the Makkah International Centre for Qur’anic Guidance and the establishment of the China-Nigeria Belt and Road Initiative Joint Laboratory with Zhejiang University and the Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute through the COCESS Faculty.
KASU further disclosed that it secured a N1 billion competitive research grant from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for commercial agriculture research and development.
On staff welfare, the university said the Kaduna State Government had cleared inherited May 2022 salary arrears owed to all categories of university staff, paid SIWES allowances and maintained regular payment of monthly salaries.
It also highlighted measures targeted at students, including scholarships worth more than N1 billion and a 50 per cent reduction in tuition fees.
The management said Governor Uba Sani had also directed that students unable to pay their fees should be allowed to sit for examinations, describing the measures as part of efforts to widen access to higher education.
While acknowledging the importance of continuous engagement on staff welfare and other concerns, the university maintained that such issues should be addressed through dialogue rather than confrontation.
“The university management remains committed to constructive engagement and sustained dialogue with the union in the interest of staff, students, and the continued growth and stability of Kaduna State University,” Musa said.
The management consequently appealed to ASUU-KASU to reconsider its position and return to the negotiating table to resolve outstanding matters in the interest of the university community.
