Polytechnics and colleges of education are back, 11 months after they were shut following a disagreement between teachers and the Federal Government. The strike may, however, resume if the government does not meet the teachers’ demands in three months. JENNIFER UMEH (ND II Mass Communication, Federal Polytechnic, Offa), writes.
Life is gradually returning to polytechnics and colleges of education, 11 months after they were shut following a disagreement between teachers and the Federal Government.
Students returned to school about two weeks ago when the teachers resolved to suspend the action after meeting with the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.
But, the suspension will be for three months, during which the government is expected to meet the demands.
During the strike, the campuses were desolate; weeds and mushrooms covered classrooms and libraries. Commercial activities were also disrupted as business operators closed shops.
Many students became idle during the long strike.
For Folake Adeojo, the strike was an anti-climax. Barely a week after the 22-year-old got admitted into the Federal Polytechnic in Offa (OFFA POLY), the campus was shut. She spent another 11 months at home, having stayed idle for four years, looking for admission.
She said: “I wrote the matriculation examination four times before I got admission into OFFA POLY. I was really sad. It was like I am the only one that suffered the effect of the strike. I just wanted to start my studies.”
OFFA POLY was lifeless during the strike, which cost the management and students a lot. The management may spend millions of naira on structural defects on some buildings, according to a senior official.
President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Festus Ayodeji, a HND II Mechanical Engineering student, said some students may not be mobilised for the National Youth Service because of age limit.
He said: “Some students who were about 30 years last year may not be mobilised for Youth Service because they would have passed the age limit of 30 years.”
The strike took its toll on the Federal Polytechnic in Ilaro, Ogun State. The economy of the ancient town was hit. Ilaro, whose commercial activities revolve round the institution, suffered during the strike.
Apart from the security men at the gate and a few academic staff members in the Administrative Building, the school was deserted when CAMPUSLIFE visited a few days before the strike was called off.
The shopping malls, stalls and business centres around the campus were closed. There was no business for commercial motorcyclists, who ply the campus routes. Some were seen sleeping in their parks; other were conversing.
An operator, Tobi Okenola, who spoke with CAMPUSLIFE, said: “I had to return to my auto mechanic vocation to survive. The strike subjected our members to hunger.”
A trader at the school gate told our correspondent he postponed his wedding because of the strike. “I expected to finance my wedding from the money I would make selling my wares to the students. But I postponed the wedding two weeks after the strike started because of no sales,” he said.
There was gloom at the host community of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede (EDE POLY) in Osun State, during the strike.
Food vendors and small businesses, patronised by students closed shops.
A bank on the campus was affected. There was no long queue of students in its hall.
The Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) in Lagos, which is famed as the busiest in the country, was a shadow of itself during the strike. Activities were low while the students were away.
Some HND II students said it was only about two months to their graduation when the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) went on strike.
Emmanuel Afolabi, a HND II Mechanical Engineering student, who had two months to complete his programme, said: “I am frustrated.”
At 29, Afolabi said he regretted being a liability to his parents, who have to do extra work to feed him and his siblings.
Students are worried that ASUP may go back on strike if the government did not meet its demands. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that only four of the 15 demands were met by the government.
The students are saying that they had suffered enough during the strikes.
Khalil Ayinde, a ND II Accountancy student of OFFA POLY, said students must not be taken as pawn by the government and aggrieved lecturers.
He said: “Another round of strike would be absolutely disgraceful for the country. This is not how to run education. Although we want a better system but there are ways our lecturers can go about it, without putting the future of students on the line.”
For Damilola Ibitoye, a ND 1 Mass Communication student of OFFA POLY, polytechnic education should be forgotten in the country should lecturers embark on another strike. “I see no reason why the government should not meet the ASUP demand before the three months deadline lapses. They should not compound our problem with their politics because none of their children is studying in any polytechnic. Government should hurry up and answer the lecturers; I don’t want to experience another strike again,” she said.
Monarchs and non-governmental organisations should speak up for students should there be another strike, Fausat Olakope, a student of ILARO POLY, said.
Oghenetejiri Ekete, a ND II Mass Communication student of ILARO POLY, said: “We know that ASUP is fighting for a good cause, but they should also consider students and accept what the Federal Government has to offer. I am spending four years already for a part-time programme I should do in three years.”
Ayomide Aladegboye, a HND II Computer Science student of YABATECH, said students should only beg their lecturers not to go on strike because government has been insensitive in the face of the dwindling values of education. “We should appeal to ASUP to save our future. The Federal Government is not reliable going by the way masses are treated,” he said.
