The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it played a key role in the establishment of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).

TETFUND is a scheme established by the Federal Government in 2011, to disburse, manage and monitor education tax to government-owned tertiary institutions in the country.

Prof. Ajao Moyosore, the ASUU Chairman, University of Ilorin (Unilorin) Chapter, made the assertion while speaking with newsmen on Thursday in Ilorin.

Moyosore, who was speaking on the ongoing strike by members of the union, explained that the group had always given proposals to the Nigerian government on how to solve challenges of funding universities across the country.

He explained that TETfund was a scheme that was proposed after negotiations with former President Ibrahim Babangida.

According to him, Universities and Councils must be allowed to govern their institutions for development.

“There was a time that Nigerian vice chancellors were like demi-gods. But the vice chancellors today are distracted with many protocols,” he lamented.

Moyosore observed that Unilorin was short-staffed and not replaced, as some got retired and some others lost to death.

On appointment of vice chancellors, the ASUU chairman decried situations where vice chancellors were appointed based on ethno-religious sentiments, noting that universities should have the best brains, irrespective of their religious affiliation or tribe.

“Appointment of vice chancellors should not be based on ethnicity or religion. An Igbo man can be vice chancellor anywhere.

“In some parts of the country, you cannot even be a course coordinator,” he lamented.

He therefore appealed to governments to prioritise education, from the primary to tertiary levels, while warning that the country currently boasted of more private tertiary institutions than the public or government.