BY AMAYINDI YAKUBU
in a letter to recent letter to President Bola Tinubu, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) outlined a series of unresolved grievances against the federal government. These issues include the unfulfilled agreements from the Prof Nimi Briggs Committee Report of 2021, also known as the renegotiated 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement, and the non-release of withheld salaries resulting from the 2022 strike action.
Additionally, ASUU demands the payment of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), funding for the revitalization of public universities, and the release of outstanding third-party deductions and promotion arrears since 2018. They also call for the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) to replace IPPIS, and the release of unpaid salaries for staff on sabbaticals and part-time adjunct appointments.
Joining this wave of demands, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) have protested for their withheld salaries from the 2023 strike and lingering promotion arrears.
Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has issued an ultimatum to the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) to withdraw a controversial new scheme of service. With myriad demands from various labor groups in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, a robust commitment to end industrial actions is urgently needed, beyond mere meetings and unimplemented agreements.
It’s no longer news that Nigeria’s educational system is not as robust as it used to be. This is further buttressed by the 77 per cent failure of students in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) of May 2024, and thousands of half-baked graduates churned out every year.
Academicians Perspectives
The Pointer, in a series of interviews with academicians, revealed the current dilemma Nigeria’s higher institutions are battling with. Dr. Kabiru Danladi, a lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria gave his perspective on these prevailing issues.
Speaking on the major factors that have necessitated the prolonged strikes in Nigerian schools, he pointed at “lack of implementation of agreements by the government” among which is the present 2009 renegotiated FGN/ASUU Agreement.
Giving a brief background of the impasse, Kabiru mentioned that the 2013 strike that saw Goodluck Jonathan’s National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDs) assessment committee report that proposed a minimum of N4trn for the revitalization of Nigerian tertiary institutions, adding that only N200bn was disbursed to address the challenges while N50bn was partly paid in respect of the Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) due to the workload on university staff.
‘’The Buhari government though paid some money, but it was not sufficient to address the issue of earned allowance and revitalization at stake. Upon these already existing agreements, the Buhari administration signed a new pact with ASUU called the Memorandum of Action which resulted in a fresh strike in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 due to non-implementation on the part of the government.’’
He said the drama continued when another strike threat instituted by ASUU in 2022 made the government swiftly set up the Nimi Briggs Committee which recommended that the federal government address all the outstanding agreements from the previous MOU.
He continued, “Most of Nigerian public universities cannot even pay their electricity bills, talk less of other activities”.
On the demands of ASUU not unattainable, Mr Kabiru pointed out “The issue is not about unattainable demands but the willingness of the government to fulfil part of its responsibilities. University education has been in a coma for the past 40 years due to the negligence of the federal government.
‘We have shifted from a mixed economy where the government takes care of some responsibilities to a purely capitalist state where everything is left to the private sector. The commodification and privatization that started in 1986 in the education sector which first began from primary and secondary school now extends to tertiary education’’
Expressing his dissatisfaction with the Tinubu administration’s resolve in settling the issues, Kabiru lamented that “the Federal Government is purely capitalist and most of the programs and policies they have started since when they came in 2023 till date are the same policies that we saw during the era of Ibrahim Babangida, Olusegun Obasanjo and Mohammadu Buhari”.
To him expecting a change is not feasible with the way the government is handling the concerns of university advancement in the nation. Kabiru reasoned that the government should take action not because it’s in ASUU’s interest but to help the students who are the worst hit.
Dr. Kabiru cited an example of a particular university which offered about 30,000 admissions to applicants but only 5000 could afford to pay the fee. “With the way we are going now, university education is going to be very difficult for the children of the poor”
Another lecturer, Mr. J.T Mallam, of the Department of Public Administration in ABU also speaking on the incessant strikes and its resultant effects on educational quality, admitted that “every learning process requires consistency. So, where there is a break, you will find out that there will be a disadvantage and, in this case, it will result in low morale.
‘’Some of the students during the strikes must have engaged in different activities which have preoccupied their minds and distanced them from academics. That is why you hear them say school-na-scam”. Although he argued that while the strikes affected normal academic procedures, they did not result in the production of half-baked graduates.
“The rationale behind the strikes is to see that our poor educational quality is being addressed once and for all”. He reiterated that the nation has not given education serious priority right from inception.
The Dilemma
The constant neglect of tertiary institutions is proof of the government’s lack of interest in educational development. To think that most of those in government were once alumni of these public institutions but now turn their back on the system that contributed to their success story and brought them to the limelight is saddening. Only stories are now being told of how vibrant the educational system used to be in those days when education was free and students’ welfare was attended to.
It is high time we begin telling ourselves the bitter truth that the government no longer considers investing in education. The attitude of the government is so glaring that Nigerians should look elsewhere for scholarships rather than resorting to staying at home for studies. The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the United States and other European countries have been recording a significant number of Nigerian students due to the current trend of ‘Educational Japa’ necessitated by the fast decay of our tertiary institutions.
The devastating effect of the aftermath of this issue is the continuous brain drain the nation witnesses in all its sectors, especially health and education. During and after the 2022 ASUU strike that lasted for a while, a lot of Nigerian lecturers who got global opportunities to teach at other institutions abroad left the country without second thoughts.
Vacancies caused by this mass exodus, still largely remain unfilled adding to much workload on the overstretched staff. The poor conditions of service these lecturers are exposed to would continue to truncate their intellectual prowess, adding to the psychological trauma of trying to live within a minimum wage that is not sustainable. Unarguably, one cannot point an accusing finger at those leaving the country in search of greener pastures because the country is not desirable; nothing seems to working anymore.
We are in a country where funding for education ranks among the lowest of the whole national budget. How can a nation strive for national development when education, being one of the major pillars of development is sidelined?
Reacting to the 2024 national budget, ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke raised an alarm about the low budget allocation to education in the country, which he asserts as being one of the lowest in West Africa.
“We are in a country where we give 4.5 to 7 per cent out of which less than 70 per cent is released”. Comparing Obafemi Awolowo’s 30 per cent to the government’s education budget allocation to the present reality, our past looks more promising than the future we are now in.
With the high rate of out-of-school children in Nigeria, the nation should not expect a miracle to happen if adequate measures are not taken to ensure proper funding of educational institutions in the country at all levels.
Recommendations
The acclaimed Giant of Africa must show, as a matter of urgency, a level of respect by putting its affairs in order before pretending to stand as a beacon that other African nations can look to for inspiration as Big Brother.
The place of education in any country that desires progress is paramount. Investing in quality education through standard curriculum, proper funding of education and implementation of internationally accredited educational policies should be given priority by the government and designated educational agencies. Nigerians’ capital development through sound education is worth more than infrastructure development which we budget billions of naira to while neglecting assigning a meagre share to education.
Kabiru, giving his recommendations, opined “The way forward is simple. It’s for us to find a consensus between the private sector led by capitalists, and government support for people’s welfare. This is the only way Nigeria can find a solution to that”.
Reiterating, Kabiru cautioned “You can’t lead people in hunger, illiteracy, poverty and expect peace”. If the issue of education is not addressed, another aspect of Nigeria society will eventually fall out of balance and that will not be a desirable state for the fragile nation to be. Anything can break out of a nation that is sitting on a keg of gunpowder it has produced for itself.
