I had concluded my article on another subject for the week when I got a call that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would commence an indefinite strike from last Monday. The first thought I had formed the title of my piece today. Whenever we take a step forward we tend to take five steps backward.
I say this because a few months ago the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the tertiary education report, which is aimed at strengthening universities and eliminate the weaknesses that have brought down the standard of education in the country. I felt then that it was a right step in the right direction, at least the government had come to term with the fact that all is not well with our universities. But that is just one side of the coin.
Our loquacious Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, said apart from poor funding, there are other systemic issues relating to the vision of the various universities, improper utilisation of resources as well as regulations that need to be tackled. He was quoted as saying: “The report, which was ordered by the president, following the last ASUU strike brought together stakeholders in the tertiary educational system to examine the state of development of our universities and to look at all the issues that have continued to lead to friction and also lower standards in the university system.
“So, in order that we would be able to come up with a very, very comprehensive intervention policy, Mr President felt there was a need to draw in other stakeholders, particularly state governments. And after the presentation to the National Economic Council, Mr President will then proceed to agree on an intervention formula following a thorough analysis of the report that has been presented to us today,” Maku said then.
The Minister also added that the FEC also recommended that it has become necessary for the National Universities Commission (NUC) to enforce basic minimum standards on infrastructure, staff/student ratio and facilities, to ensure that the universities meet the best standards compared to any other in the world.
So, after this postulation, the big question remains: why allow ASUU to proceed on another unnecessary indefinite strike after the same government failed to honour an agreement it signed? It will be appropriate to listen to the lecturers on why they chose the strike option. The ASUU National President, Dr. Isa Fagge, said in Lagos that the decision to embark on the action, which he said will be “comprehensive, total and indefinite’’, is the refusal of the Federal Government to implement agreement reached with the union. He warned that the strike would last for as long as the Federal Government wants it. Have we not heard this before?
Before anyone nails the lecturers for being insensitive to the plight of their students, the nation and the education sector, we have to understand where they are coming from. ASUU explained that it embarked on the strike because the government had reneged on the agreement it reached with it before the lecturers suspended a similar action that lasted for months in February last year. The agreement was signed in 2009 and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was entered into in December 2011.
“Before now, there has been this issue of the implementation of the key issues contained in the 2009 agreement we entered into with the Federal Government. We have had several meetings and deliberations to let the government understand why these issues must be resolved, but it is like the more we meet and deliberate, the messier the issue gets. One of the issues that needed to be addressed was basically that of the academic allowance. This earned allowance, and other issues, had dragged on until the government then agreed to write an MoU with the union. But there has been nothing to show that the government was committed to an MoU it willingly wrote to better the university sector. It is in this regard that we are embarking on an indefinite strike,” ASUU said.
The “earned allowance” is a N12, 500 per lecturer allowance in a certain category. But because of cost implication, the government negotiated with the union, signed a MoU and set aside N100billion to take care of all the issues. During the initial part of the negotiation, the government appealed for 20 per cent to be knocked off and another 30 per cent later, bringing the agreed amount to 50 per cent of the original amount agreed on. It was alleged by the union that even with this amount the government still failed to keep its words.
According to one lecturer, “This 50 per cent, government said, will be a one off payment; that it was from that 50 per cent that we shall take care of everything, including the earned allowance. This did not go down well with us and so we decided to meet and take the decision we have just taken.”
He added that the tertiary education sector is affected by inadequate funding. He emphasised what we knew that one of the reasons foreign scholars shun Nigeria was because of the poor wages. The agitation for earned allowance is a means of attracting foreign scholars and not about ASUU.
After being properly lectured, I saw that the policy is aimed at addressing the thorny issue of brain drain in the university system. We are all aware that our best brains are all drifting into industries and other sectors that will pay them better, rather than ploughing back their intellect into the academic sector.
For those who may be quick to point fingers at ASUU, I implore them to go to our universities, polytechnics or colleges of education and see the condition in which lecturers operate! As far as I’m concerned, they – like the doctors in our public hospitals – should be applauded and given all the encouragement for staying in the forte when others have left. Simply put, it is tough being a lecturer in Nigeria.
It appears the government is not aware that we are living in a rapidly changing world, where issues are becoming more complex daily such that yesterday’s tools are grossly inadequate to address today’s challenges, that is why universities worldwide are facing increasing pressures to produce “knowledge workers”, to respond to perceived competition dynamics, and to maintain and improve quality standards.
In Nigeria, there is a growing concern by the public on the quality of university education and the relevance of the universities curriculum to national development. Part of the problems attributed to these setbacks, in addition to what the FEC identified a few months ago, include: poor funding, lack of infrastructure, lack of frequent curriculum review, inadequate staff training and welfare, students overpopulation, frequent strikes by both the academic and supporting staff etc.
In addition to ASUU’s grouse, it is quite unfortunate that facilities, such as sufficient power supply, enough and decent lecture halls, basic chemicals and equipment in labs and well-equipped libraries are lacking. No doubt, public universities need to improve to parallel the global standard in imparting knowledge, conduct researches, and be responsive to the needs of our socio-economic development.
Elsewhere, many universities have been adapting, demonstrating the capacity to re-invent themselves while apparently continuing to pursue their fundamental mission and sustaining their core values. Yet, back home, billions are being spent on unnecessary politicking and on issues that are antithetical to development.
University education, I emphasise, is supposed to provide the platform for critical thinking which oftentimes challenges the norm. It is in challenging the norm that great inventions are made. Has it ever crossed the minds of our policy formulators that our universities are not at the forefront of technological advancement? Researches and innovations are rare and as a result, those who could afford it go to other African countries for their education.
This is why the ASUU strike is unnecessary. The government often cites lack of funds whenever issues bothering on education are raised. Yet, these ‘funds’ are never in short supply when it comes to settling political scores and checkmating opponents. When will we stop mortgaging the future of our youths and country?
