ASUU strikes again: What else is new?

Minister of Education, Professor Ruqqayatu Rufa'i

On Monday, July 1,  2013, the Academic Staff Union of Universities embarked on yet another “indefinite strike” for the umpteenth time. Incidentally, the blame being traded is the same. “The Federal Government has refused to implement some of the issues contained in a 2009 agreement it had with us,” or “The government has a penchant for reneging on promises.” The union is also claiming that the strike is aimed at checking the near lack of foreign scholars in our education system and the recurring brain-drain in the sector.

The Federal Government will soon reply. But, “The lecturers are being unreasonable”, is usually its famous line of attack. Then the Minister of Education will go on television to convince every one of how much effort they are making to reposition the education system — not forgetting to remind us, she was a teacher therefore holds their interest as a priority. The bewildered students, always the victims of the needless strikes, will sit at home and watch it all unfold. In three or four weeks time, they will be told the warring parties have sheathed their swords. “All is well, please return to school immediately.” Of course, there will be no explanation on what the outcome of the strike was and whether another one might be imminent. Within two weeks, the institutions will hurriedly prepare the examination timetable for students who just resumed lectures. Lecturers will then prepare “Indomie” lectures to beat deadlines. In the end, when they cannot defend the CGPA, those that claim they know better will call them “half-baked graduates”.

I am not holding brief for any one because all the stakeholders in the system — government, lecturers, students, and parents ought to be alive to their responsibilities. However, when one’s gaping hole keeps reflecting badly on the rest, it becomes a thing of concern. The so-called rot in the country’s tertiary education system is largely the handiwork of two actors — government and lecturers. They are the primary enforcers in the system. Their action or inaction leaves imprints on their direct subjects — the students.

ASUU’s strikes and agreements with government go way back. The agreements, according to the university lecturers, started from 1981 to 2001. The 1981 Agreement, “established the principle of collective bargaining, in line with the International Labour Organisation,” providing a platform for resolving issues like salaries and conditions of service of their members. Subsequent agreements addressed other salient areas concerning the welfare of the body and the education sector. The 2001 Agreement, for instance, tackled the issue of brain drain and the rot in the university system.

Despite all these agreements, the status quo persists. Every year, ASUU will go on strike and the Federal Government will call for “dialogue”. The end product is yet another agreement, the strike is called off only to resume the very next year. What else is new?

According to the National Chairman of ASUU, Dr. Isa Faggae, the present strike action “is going to last for as long as the Federal Government wants it.” It is the same thing they said in December 2012 before some negotiators from the government compelled them to call it off. When will it end? When will the Nigerian student enjoy at least one year uninterrupted school calendar?

Progress cannot thrive in instability. The persistent bickering between the two parties is responsible for where the sector is presently. It is time ASUU focused on new frontiers if it sincerely desires an end to brain drain.

Incessant strike actions are mostly responsible for parents taking their children outside the country for quality education. No parent is happy when a child is forced to spend six years over a four year course because the school system is constantly disrupted by strike actions. Strike action is responsible for the lack of reforms in the tertiary curricular which many have complained about to no avail. Over a period of time, the patience of most parents runs out and those who can afford to send their children to schools outside the country take that option. Time that should have been dedicated to developing and exploring progressive ideas towards a value-driven curriculum is spent on activism or lobbying the government to honour the agreements that no one forced them to enter into in the first place.

Going forward, ASUU will have to develop a new way of doing things. Its age-long battles have produced little because those in the corridors of power place low premium on education in the first place. Or, how else will one explain the existence of over 10.1 million out of school children in the country? One state in northern Nigeria has about 750, 000 out-of-school children. What about the fact that the budgets for education have never reached the minimum requirement by UNESCO? Rather than fight the government all the time, ASUU can channel its energy in exploring new sources of funding, after all why is the school a citadel of learning?