By ALABA OLUSOLA OKE

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko(AAUA) Chapter, has decried the rate of infrastructural decay at the institution.

The Chairman of the chapter, Dr Boluwaji Oshodi, said that poor funding of the Ondo State owned university by the government led to infrastructural decay in the institution.

Oshodi stated this at a news conference held on Friday in Akure.

He noted that the state government had not released funds for capital projects to the university for the past seven years.

?The neglect of the university has greatly affected the welfare of academic staff in AAUA. Lecture rooms, laboratories and library need some urgent facelift.

?Lecturers? offices are the most hit. The Faculty of Arts, a two storey building for example has been abandoned by staff accommodated on the second floor because the inner roof has collapsed and are usually flooded anytime it rains.

?The same thing is happening to the Faculty of Education.

?Since, the TETFund intervention was taken away from the university by the state government during the last dispensation, the university had experienced serious decay in infrastructural facilities,? he stated.

According to him, the institution has almost become TETFund University because almost 90 per cent of buildings in the university were built by TETfund.

The ASUU chairman said that the major challenge confronting the university was inadequate funding by the state government.

Oshodi said monthly subvention to the institution was N223 million while salaries and overhead cost was N555 million.

He added that this left the institution to augment the balance N333 million from its internally generated revenue.

He said the union, had been on strike over non-payment of their two-month salaries and had made several efforts to meet the state governor without any result.

Oshodi, therefore, urged the government to urgently release Special Intervention Funds to offset outstanding salaries and allowances, as well as increase the monthly subvention that would be commensurate with the wage bill.

Efforts to speak with the State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, proved abortive as he did not pick his calls when the News Agency of Nigeria Correspondent called him. (NAN)

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