This missive is to appeal to members of Academic Staffs Union of
Universities, individually and collectively, to consider the plight of
innocent students and their helpless parents and return to work. Since
July 2, 2013 when they declared a “total and indefinite strike” over
issues they claim have remained unresolved pertaining to a 2009
agreement, innocent students and their poor parents have been at the
receiving end of the stalemate.
While some government officials are lousy and combatant in their
approach to resolving the face-off over the strike, it is difficult to
fault their arguments and the statistics they reel out over the level
of government’s intervention and implementation of the contentious
2009 agreement. It is therefore a welcome development the recent
disbursement of N100 billion by the government for the implementation
of the first phase projects listed in the Needs Assessment Report of
Universities and another N30 billion to support federal university
Councils in the payment of arrears of Earned Allowances to deserving
staff.
As I wrote in an article on the problems of public and private
universities in Nigeria in October 2011, the deregulation of education
in Nigeria is a deliberate effort to break government’s monopoly on
education and by allowing the establishment of private universities to
check the incessant strikes by lecturers in public institutions. I
then pointed out that that most of the current leaders attended public
universities that were well-funded. Our leaders, including some of the
current activist-lecturers, enjoyed scholarships and crisis-free
academic sessions, which, unfortunately, the current students could
not enjoy.
While we accuse political leaders of selfishness, there is no
difference between them and some of the lecturers in their seeming
connivance in the promotion of private universities and patronage of
foreign institutions, to the expense of our public universities.
It is regrettable that while attempting to register their grievances
against inadequate funding from the government, ASUU members take some
actions that are inimical to the progress and development of their
poor students. Yet, the flexibility of academic environment with job
security and huge severance packages influence the decision of many
lecturers to remain on the payroll of public universities. We are also
aware that some of the lecturers provide part-time lecturing to the
private universities in the name of private practice, while others
would rather lobby or take political appointments and consultancy jobs
than attend to the needs of their students. Surprisingly too, some
professors are yet to adapt to the new use of information technology.
They still rely on old books and theories of past centuries when the
internet provides the theory of reality and practicability.
We must also blame ASUU for indiscipline and lack of adequate
inspection on the campuses, which have caused cultism, drug addiction,
gang rape and other criminalities on campuses. For instance, the
incessant ASUU strikes influence idle students to engage in
prostitution, robbery and kidnapping to earn a living and to occupy
their times. It is therefore not surprising that some of the
institutions are alleged to churn out certificated illiterates who can
barely write their names and place of origin.
Not every parent can afford or willing to send their children to
expensive private universities that widen the social gap between the
rich and the poor. The private institutions, too have their weaknesses
with some of them operating medieval laws that weaken independence and
freedom of expression on the campuses. Like regimented garrisons where
all forms of feudal measures are taken, the private institutions do
not treat their students as adults but pupils in boarding schools who
must observe strict wake-up time and bedtime light-out.
The option of missionary universities also have some challenges.
Instead of making the fees affordable, some of them develop unwritten
house-rules that ‘no student will ever fail to graduate because of
spiritual interventions.’ Apart from discriminatory policies against
those that do not believe or practice their faiths, some of them
conduct virginity tests on students upon resumption. While
worshippers, occasionally act as part time lecturers, whose allowances
could be paid ‘only in heaven,’ some of the recruited scholars are
actually lecturers from established public universities within their
vicinities.
We know that we have crises in our hands and it seems the government
with recent moves have demonstrated willingness to resolve the crisis.
After a recent meeting of key government officials with
Vice-Chancellors and Chairmen of Councils of Public Universities, it
was disclosed that the government had implemented some of the
agreements it entered with the academic staff. These include
implementations of the Consolidated Salary Structure for Academics and
non-teaching staff; National Health Insurance Scheme for staff of
universities; Amendment of Pensionable Retirement Age of Academics in
the Professorial cadre as Professors and Readers now retire at 70
years while others now retire at 65 instead of 60 years.
Government has also provided a counterpart funding of N250 million to
help ASUU meet up with the mandatory deposit required for registration
of Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company while it continues
to assist state universities through the Federal intervention
agencies.
There should be a way to resolve demands pertaining to commercial
ventures, especially the alleged request by ASUU for the transfer of
government landed properties to universities, which government resists
because ASUU has no structure to manage or maintain such property.
While we must call on our policy makers to ensure that our
universities are adequately funded, our lawmakers should enact laws
that would compel lecturers to be responsible to their duties and
concentrate on the job for which they are discriminatorily
remunerated. The law should also compel public officers to send their
children to public institutions where they can relate and compete with
other poor students.
Regulatory bodies such as NUC, JAMB, NECO and WAEC should be more
proactive and responsive in monitoring responsibilities so as to
ensure that Nigerian universities comply with international best
practices.
Yushau A. Shuaib writes from yashuaib@yahoo.com. He stays at Finance
Estate, Wuye Abuja.
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