TheCable

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called on members of the national assembly to increase the budgetary allocation for education in the 2018 appropriation bill.

The union made the call at the end of its 74th pre-convention and senate meeting which held in Minna, Niger state, last week.

They lamented the poor state of education in the country — a sector plagued with “decay in infrastructure, numerous unimplemented agreement with staff unions, and incessant industrial strike actions”.

The students condemned the allocation of “only” 7.4 percent of the 2018 budget to the education sector, as against the 26 percent recommended by UNESCO.

A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting by Mohammed Saba, chairman of the pre-convention, read: “The senate, therefore, call on national assembly to jack up the budgetary allocation as they begin the passage of appropriation bill.

“Senate resolved that should this plea to the national assembly fail, Nigerian students will be left with no other option than to occupy the national assembly which is representative of all constituencies in Nigeria.”

On the clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country, NANS called for an immediate deployment of soldiers to affected areas.

“The FG must adopt quick remedy as the crisis is more terrorism than communal unrest/ethno – religion crisis as being painted by some government spoke persons and agencies,’’ the students’ body said