A season of strikes

First, it was the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP)
strike. Then Primary and Secondary school tachers started
their own. Now, it is the turn of Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU). What is happening in the education
sector? Is there a plan to ground the sector? As the teachers
insist on fighting for their right, their wards, who feel the
pinch, are crying.
For the education sector, it is a season of strikes. First, it was
the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) that downed
tools nationwide, protesting the failure of the Federal
Government to implement its 2009 agreement with the union.
The union's strike paralysed academic activities in many federal
and state polytechnics.
Its demands include the non-reconstitution of the governing
council of polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of
technology; non-release of government white paper on the
visitation panels to federal polytechnics; non-commencement
of Needs Assessment of polytechnics, among others.
The strike by public primary and secondary school teachers
under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT)
followed in some states to protest the non-implementation of
the 27.5 per cent Teachers Peculiar Allowances at the
beginning of last month. While some NUT wings have resolved
the issue with their state governments, others are still in the
trenches fighting to reach an agreement on the payment of the
allowances.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) started its
own strike last Tuesday. Unlike in the past, it did not embark
on any warning strike; it took the public by surprise when it
began the strike over the non-implementation of some parts
of the 2009 ASUU/FGN agreement.
The strike was announced after a meeting at the Olabisi
Onabanjo University (OOU), in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.
The bone of contention is the failure to pay lecturers some
allowances.
These allowances were earned by lecturers while supervising
examinations, serving as heads of department, or supervising
postgraduate students, or other related activities.
In an interview, Comrade Idaevbor Bello, an ASUU member at
the University of Benin (UNIBEN), accused the government of
blackmail and refusing to implement the agreement after
signing it in 2009. Contrary to the perceived suddenness of the
strike, Idaevbor said ASUU had been working behind the scene
to get the government to implement the agreement.
"In 2009, the government reached an agreement with the
union. It was some sort of blackmail because the government
just implemented the monetary aspect of the remuneration
and ignored the rest.
"In the university system, people are constantly working round
the clock on exams, as heads of department and other roles.
For these, they ought to get responsibility allowances, excess
workload, postgraduate supervision allowance; clinical
supervision and all that.
"Earned allowances are an important component of the
agreement that the government simply refused to implement.
They started shifting responsibility to the universities, saying
they will only pay a part and the university will source for
funds to pay the rest. That was even after the union pestered
the government to implement it. If they signed the
agreement, they should be ready to fund it.
"Since 2009, we have been working round the clock trying to
get the government to honour the agreement. Even in 2011
we went briefly but they refused to pay attention to the
issues," he said.
Some other components of the agreement are increased
funding to universities; extension of retirement age of
professors to 70, better condition of service, among others.
Chairman of the Lagos State University (LASU) chapter of ASUU
Dr Adekunle Idris said the union is in total support of the
strike because of the non-implementation of the agreement
after five years. He added that even after the national strike is
off, the local ASUU chapter may continue the strike if the
Lagos State government fails to implement the agreement.
"A lot of the items of the 2009 ASUU-Federal Government
agreement have not been implemented. The Lagos State
government also freely agreed to execute the agreement at a
meeting held with the governor and Head of Service (HoD)
and ASUU-LASU, and signed by both parties on Friday,
December 31, 2010.
"It is unfortunate that up till 2013, government has not
implemented this agreement. Part of this agreement is that
universities will comply with other Acts that have to do with
the running of the universities. There is a major one – the
2012 Universities Miscellaneous Provision Act passed by the
National Assembly and assented to by the President of Nigeria.
"This Act states that the new retirement age of academics of
professorial cadre shall be 70. The Lagos State government has
not domesticated this law for LASU. Our academics on
professorial cadre who are expected to produce new PhD and
other professors have had to retire at age 65. As a matter of
fact, the university management started writing some of them
ahead of their retirement. A forward-looking management will
not write off their best brains. This is frustrating our members
and making them feel they are not wanted by the system."
Other lecturers who spoke on the strike and the non-
implementation of various components of the agreement said
this time around, it would be a fight to finish.
One of the lecturers from the Cross River University of
Technology (CRUTECH) who did not want to be named said the
strike would go on for as long as the government refused to
meet their demands.
"There would be no academic activity until the matter is
resolved," he said.
Dr Celestine Aguoru, ASUU Chairman of the University of
Agriculture, Makurdi (UAM) also said the Federal Government
should implement the agreement it voluntarily signed.
"ASUU has been pushed to the wall and left with no choice
than to embark on the strike. ASUU is only trying to arrest the
almost falling standard of education in the country. Nigerians
should prevail on the Federal Government to save education,"
he said.
If it takes one year for the government to implement the
agreement, a lecturer in the Department of Geology, Federal
University of Technology, Minna (FUTMINNA), said they were
ready to stay out of classrooms, studios, laboratories and
workshops. He added that the government's willingness to
allow students sit at home further underscores its insincerity.
"For me, if we will have to stay away for a year let it be.
Government is not sincere about our demands and if we do
not put our feet down now, I can not see any positive thing
from this government. Earlier, the government sent people to
appeal to ASUU, we yielded; let them not think we will this
time. Our leaders are insensitive.
"I know the students will suffer and our leaders care less
about them because if they care, government ought to attend
to ASUU and now ASUP has joined. This development speaks
volume about our leaders," he said.
A lecturer at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), who pleaded
anonymity, said if implemented, the demands would benefit
students as well.
"Well, this ASUU strike is not just for our interest but that of
the students too; because there has been a memorandum of
understanding between Federal Government and us, and the
Federal Government approved it. So, why should it relent
since 2009? Each time they go for meetings the
representatives of the Federal Government would either not
come or say they could not do it until when they make it
official," he said.
Lecturers may be insistent on the strike, but many of the
students, who are forced to stay away from the classrooms,
are not happy about it. Some are worried about the
elongation of their courses and the attendant effect on the
quality of education; others worry about increased costs of
their programmes.
University and polytechnic campuses across the country visted
were desolate, and devoid of the usual student activities.
However, some students of the striking universities are luckier
than others as their lecturers voted to allow them complete
their examinations before embarking on the strike fully. This
was the case at the Enugu State University of Science and
Technology, (ESUT), the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU),
Awka, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and others.
Kemi Busari, a 400-Level Political Science student of OAU, said
they were lucky to be allowed to complete their examinations.
"When we heard about the strike, I felt very bad about it.
Though it is affecting my school presently but they allowed us
to finish our exams last Friday before joining the strike," she
said.
However, she said this did not take away from the implications
of the strike.
"The major implication of this strike to OAU students is that it
will give us automatic extra year like some of us that had
experienced up to three or four ASUU strikes since we got to
campus. So, most of us go home being idle and those that are
not idle indulge in criminal activities. So, for ASUU, I think it is
high time our lecturers sought better means of bargaining with
the Federal Government rather than going on strike," she said.
Students from other schools such as the University of Calabar,
CRUTECH, UAM, Benue State University (BSU), FUTMINNA,
Usumanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), Bayero
University, Kano, and others were not so lucky. Their
examinations have been suspended because of the strike.
Already, students of the Bayero University Kano BUK and their
Kano State University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil
counterparts have all vacated their hostels and headed for
their states and homes.
Some of those who spoke said: "We appeal to the Federal
Government to address the demands of the teachers/lecturers
and save the sector from another crisis."
Some final year students lamented their fate and the effect of
the strike on them. One of them, Zanaib Yan-Mohammed,
said: "The strike would surely take its toll on us. We would
have started our examination on Monday but the strike has
paralysed it."
At UDUS, examinations for the second semester have been
truncated by the strike. Yet, the university only just resumed
after an unrest by students caused a month-long closure.
A female student said of the strike: "We are put in bondage of
sort, especially we final year students. I am privileged to hear
that the hostels will under lock and key. Those students relying
on the fact that they could hang around for lack of finance to
travel home will have no option than to quit the campus."
She pleaded to the academic body to, for the sake of their
future, call off the strike, "not for the Federal Government's
but for our sake. Its affecting our intellectual abilities and
exposing our parents to financial losses."
Students' Union Government President of BUK Sani Saidu
Ibrahim, a 400-level student of English, said December
graduation date was no longer feasible for them.
"We ought to have started writing our final examination in two
weeks time but ASUU struck, we are now taken aback, as some
of us are due for graduation in December; you can see what
ASUU has done to us," he moaned.
Ibrahim further said about 500 Law students may miss Law
School if the strike was not called off.
"About 500 Law students, whose names were shortlisted for
Law School, should be writing their exams in two weeks,"he
said, adding that "their fate is hanging in the balance if the
strike persists."
Miss Joyce Ugochukwu of Kogi State University, Anyigba, is not
finding the strike funny. She told The Nation that it has
compounded her education because her poor parents had to
borrow to finance her education.
"As I am speaking with you now, I am stranded; I cannot even
transport myself back to Anambra State where I come from.
Most of my course mates have since gone home. I am at the
mercy of God," she said.