FG’s Alleged Plan To Scrap Courses Sparks ASUU Outrage

University Lecturers Reject Proposal to Abolish ‘Irrelevant’ Courses

THE Academic Staff Union of Universities has rejected the Federal Government’s reported proposal to abolish selected university courses considered “irrelevant,” describing the move as a dangerous approach to solving Nigeria’s education and unemployment challenges.

During a press briefing held in Kano, the ASUU Kano Zone warned that targeting Humanities and Social Science programmes could inflict long-term damage on Nigeria’s intellectual foundations and weaken the country’s cultural and democratic institutions.

The union argued that disciplines often criticised as “non-professional” or “less marketable” continue to play essential roles in shaping responsible citizenship, ethical leadership and social cohesion.

‘Unemployment Not Caused by Humanities’

ASUU faulted claims that courses in Philosophy, Religious Studies, Linguistics and Fine Arts contribute significantly to unemployment and youth unrest.

According to the lecturers, unemployment in Nigeria is more closely linked to economic stagnation, poor industrial policy, corruption and limited job creation than to the academic background of graduates.

The union said blaming particular courses for national socio-economic problems amounted to an oversimplification of complex structural issues affecting the country.

Comrade Abdulkadir Muhammad noted that many countries facing similar unemployment pressures had focused on expanding productive sectors of the economy while adapting education systems to evolving labour-market realities.

He stressed that no discipline should be dismissed as irrelevant in a modern knowledge economy.

Concerns Over Narrow View of Education

The debate has renewed wider conversations about the purpose of university education in Nigeria and the increasing pressure on institutions to prioritise job-oriented courses over broader intellectual studies.

ASUU argued that universities are not merely vocational centres but institutions designed to nurture critical inquiry, creativity, ethical reasoning and social understanding.

The lecturers maintained that many globally valued skills—including communication, problem-solving and innovation—are developed through humanities-based learning.

They warned that eliminating such disciplines could produce a generation lacking the intellectual flexibility and cultural awareness needed in an increasingly complex world.

Education experts have also warned that countries which neglect the humanities often struggle with declining civic values, weak public discourse and limited creative industries.

ASUU Threatens Wider Mobilisation

The union vowed to oppose any attempt to abolish academic programmes through administrative directives or policy reforms.

ASUU said it would work with education advocacy groups and civil society organisations to resist what it described as anti-intellectual policies capable of undermining Nigeria’s higher education system.

The lecturers further urged government officials to focus on improving funding for universities, expanding research opportunities and strengthening links between education and economic development rather than reducing academic diversity.

The controversy adds to existing tensions between university unions and government authorities over the future direction of tertiary education reforms in Nigeria.