Sir: Since coming on board of Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa as Minister of Education, his body language, unimpeachable approach and perceptible outlook towards the issue of education, especially at the tertiary level, is to say the least, highly commendable.
Completely free of cant, and undue academic polemics, that have held Nigeria’s tertiary education for many years at the jugular, the recent decision by the federal government to impose a seven year moratorium on the establishment of any new federal university, is one good step to resolve the long term lingering impasse in the country’s tertiary institutions.
With close to a hundred federal universities, it is a wrong assumption that there will be no financial hiccups in the running of the administration of these universities. But the solution does not lie in establishing more universities, but in a temporary stoppage, just as the government has done, in order to find means of providing for the financial wellness of the existing ones.
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With the Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU), Academic Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) all threatening strikes, the decision of the minister to meet them collectively to iron out their grievances in the hope of finding lasting solutions, seems the best step in the right direction.
This is quite a departure from past approaches where these unions were usually met individually and handed over promises that remained conjectures to others. Again, the minister has been sincere enough to agree that there is an agreement between these unions especially ASUU and the government. It behoves the government to see how to fulfil such agreements to a reasonable degree during the present talk between them and the Yayale Ahmed committee.
Education is capital intensive, and in the past couple of years that the government has struggled to keep a stable calendar in our tertiary institution, there seems a gradual decline in the ‘japa’ syndrome; students have become at least, hopeful and parents have become happy, even despite biting economic challenges.
It behoves the government to strive to keep stability in the tertiary institutions at all cost. Education in the words of former South African president, late Nelson Mandela is the only legacy parents can bequeath to their children. According to him also; “It is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”.
Like George Weah, the former Liberian president also observed, “Education is a continuing process. Like a bicycle, if you don’t pedal it, you don’t move forward”.
