The Academic Staff Union of Universities has issued a strong warning to the Federal Government over its plans to phase out courses deemed irrelevant in Nigerian universities, declaring that every academic programme carries societal and economic value and vowing to resist any attempt to scrap them.

The Bauchi Zone of the union raised the alarm during a press conference in Bauchi on Wednesday, where its Zonal Coordinator, Comrade Namo Timothy, described the Federal Government's pronouncement on scrapping certain university courses as "bizarre."

The Federal Government had, on April 26, 2026, during the Renewed Hope Conversation with students of the University of Abuja, announced plans to phase out courses considered irrelevant to the country's economic future. The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, had stated that the era of studying courses with limited real world value was ending and that the government was intensifying efforts to align university education with labour market demands and global trends.

Timothy faulted the minister's position, insisting that disciplines in the humanities and social sciences form the foundation for essential competencies.

"We make bold to state that every course in the university has its utilitarian values both in personal and societal spheres. After all, the foundation for cultivation of core competences classified as 21st century or soft skills, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication and digital literacy, are laid by the so called useless courses like philosophy, religious studies, linguistics and fine arts," he stated.

The coordinator also challenged the claim that graduates of social sciences and humanities were primarily responsible for the country's unemployment crisis.

"Who told the Honourable Minister that only graduates of Social Sciences and Humanities are unemployed in Nigeria? To attribute mass unemployment to studying irrelevant courses is to over simplify a complex economic management problem," Timothy added.

The union announced its intention to work with pro people organisations to resist the policy, stating: "ASUU rejects any attempt to scrap academic programmes in Nigerian universities and shall work with pro people organisations to vehemently resist it."

Beyond the curriculum controversy, ASUU also raised alarm over the non implementation of the December 2025 Federal Government and ASUU Agreement, citing unresolved issues including three and a half months of withheld salaries, promotion arrears, salary shortfalls from the IPPIS platform, unremitted third party deductions and arrears of the 23/35 per cent wage award.

The union cautioned that the growing frustration among academics could trigger fresh industrial unrest if the issues were not urgently addressed.