STRIKE AND ITS NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE SOCIETY

Education is one of the bedrock upon which a society is built. The importance of education cannot be over emphasized. Every society needs qualitative education in order to develop and advance. A society, whose population is educated, is an advanced society. Education permeates every sphere of human life; this is why the family as the first point of education for a child, teaches the child what he needs to know before he/she goes to a conventional school. This importance placed on education has seen more schools crop up in order to meet the yearning of people and also due to the increasing population of children of school age. Most of the advanced countries of the world today, invest hugely in their educational sector. In fact no serious country will dare abandon its educational sector or leave it to lie in shambles and protracted comatose. A huge amount of money is invested in the educational sector by these governments in order to safeguard its future and empower future generations for the challenges of the future. Efficient investment in science and technology is one of the panaceas to sustainable growth and development. It is in this light that one remains heartbroken by the ongoing strikes embarked upon by the Academic Association of Polytechnics (ASUP) and also by the Academic staff Union of Universities (ASUU). These bodies have paralyzed academic activities in most of our higher institutions of learning. The effect of these strikes on both the students and the educational system of Nigeria is better imagined. We already have reports of protests by students of these institutions in different parts of the country. These Students have been rendered idle and may thus become mercenaries for politicians who are shameless and take pride in breaching public peace. There is also the fear of increased criminality in the country. Suffice it to state here that, an idle mind is the devils workshop. These youths who have suddenly been made idle by government’s lackluster approach towards education and also by lecturers hard line stances on the ongoing strike, may just take to crime in order to get back at the society; a society that cares less about her youth. The fear is not just students in higher institutions alone, young and fresh graduates from secondary schools who are optimistic about going to the university may just have to wait longer; and may thus engage in condemnable acts while they wait. Strikes create a disruption in academic calendars which has unduly prolonged students stay on campuses beyond the normal time assigned for the duration of their study. Courses that are supposed to be studied for four years run into five or six years or more. Students groan under the pain of delay and frustration but remain handicapped in the recurring power tussle between the federal government and lecturers. There are some unemployed graduates who complained that, but for strike, they would have been employed a long time ago. Most of them spent long years in the university due to strike, and when they graduated, they had passed the age limit set by some employment organizations. At this point, it suffices to plead with lecturers who have downed tools to please go back classes for the sake of their students. It is an open secret that it is the children of the masses that attend public schools. Children of the high and mighty barely attend public institutions. That accounts for the over N80 Billion spent in 2012, by Nigerian students studying overseas. We urge the lectures to please appraise the option of dialogue and call of the strike for the interest of justice to the students. I am pleased with ASUP for calling off its strike, ASUU should also follow suit and government must also not forget that the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP), has also been on strike for a long time. They must not be neglected in the dialogue. To state that I am disappointed in the government is to obviously state the least. How can lecturers be on strike for months, yet government remains clueless and lackadaisical about meeting the lecturers’ demands and getting them back to the classrooms? Anyway, it clearly shows the kind of interest government has for the educational sector. Little wonder therefore why we have been recording poor performances in the WAEC and NECO examinations. The performance in JAMB this year is anything but encouraging. Lecturers must not and should not embark on strike before government seeks to dialogue t with. Last year in Ghana when their lecturers embarked on strike action, the strike lasted for just a day because the government rose up to the occasion and met the lecturers demand. Why therefore do our own strikes run into months before we promise to meet the demands of lecturers? To think that MR. President was a university lecturer makes it more startling. Frank Ijege frankijege@yahoo.com, 08032093229

THE NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SECTOR AND MATTERS ARISING

For the past months, happenings in our educational sector are one that will make any lover of Nigeria and her future fret. It is common knowledge that no nation can ever develop without a strong and solid educational system. But for Nigeria, one is tempted to believe that we are either not ready or prepared for development that is why we have allowed our educational sector to wallow in neglect and protracted abandonment. One may forgive our leaders for their political ineptitude, but the act of neglecting the educational sector is unpardonable. Basic education is the fulcrum upon which one’s educational life is built on. Thus, if the foundation of basic education is shaky, then the prospects of educational growth become shaky. In Nigeria, there is hardly any mechanism to ensure that the foundation of basic education is properly built. Incidences of pupils attending classes under mango trees, sit on bare floors and dilapidated classrooms abound. We cannot allow this to continue if we are desirous of advancing both in terms of economic and human development. One recalls that the Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration did a lot to encourage basic education. Whatever has happened to that project remains unknown. Another problem in the educational sector is poor quality of teachers. Most of those who teach in our primary and secondary schools today are hardly qualified. Government must take steps to ensure that qualified teachers are recruited to teach at this all important level of our educational system. While government is ensuring that this is done, it must also know that teachers are poorly paid; the rather false belief that teachers reward is in heaven must change. We cannot pretend not to know that the reason why we have incompetent teachers teaching at that level is because of poor remuneration and condition of services. A situation where we pay politicians huge sum of money in allowances and basic salary and pay our teachers pittance as salary cannot be allowed to continue. Another unfortunate thing is that these poorly paid teachers are often owed their salaries for months. This is an injustice and it must stop! The Nigerian Union of Teachers has screamed and cried out, yet we remain deaf. NUT remains on strike in some states of the federation as I write. At the tertiary level it is not different. A visit to our universities, polytechnics or colleges of education will make you want to cry for this country. Can a nation develop or advance with this kind of situation, you ask? Dilapidated structures and a dearth of infrastructural facilities lay abound. You find students standing outside to receive lectures because they couldn’t secure a place to sit in the lecture hall. Such students are expected to sit and pass examination at the end of the semester. Won’t they just cram to pass? Another perturbing thing is that most of what we teach in our universities today is hardly useful in today’s world. For instance, the curriculum being taught to law students today was developed around 1990. Suffice it to say that lot must have happened and changed within the last twenty three years; yet, that is what today’s lawyers are being equipped with to face the challenges of the 21st century. Will they ever be able to fit into today’s world? This problem is not peculiar to law alone; it is present in all departments and faculties of our tertiary institutions. A peep into the sciences will show that what students are taught is more of theory rather than practical. Ever wondered why we have a dearth of scientists in the country? What do you expect, when students are only taught to read and not given the opportunity to put what they have learnt into practice? We must change our rigid and static approach in developing our curriculum if we really want to join the comity of advanced countries. The importance of sciences and technology cannot be over emphasized, yet we do so little for that sector. The welfare of lecturers rears its ugly head, whenever the issues bothering on our universities are being discussed. These lectures cannot be accused of demanding too much. Where I don’t agree with them however, is the extent to which they go in seeking to advance issues bothering on their welfare. Strike for instance, has done more harm than good to not just the students but also to our educational system and the country at large. Lectures must know that embarking on endless strike is not the solution to myriad of problems in the educational sector. It is in this vein that I am calling on the Academic Staff Union to Polytechnics to sheathe its sword and go back to the classrooms for the interest of the future of this country and that of their students who have been at home for five students. The Academic Staff Union of Universities has just embarked on an indefinite strike. Our lecturers must know that strike is not in the interest of this country and her teeming population of youth. It is also submitted that government’s lackadaisical attitude, is anything but praise worthy. Government’s care free attitude to the polytechnic lecturers may have prompted the ASUU strike. Government should therefore be alive to her responsibilities; leadership comes with responsibilities and if you are not ready for responsibilities, then don’t seek to become a leader. There is also the problem of poor students and lecturers relationship. Lecturers are supposed to be mentors to their student; but what obtains today is the opposite. Some lecturers fail their students for refusing to date or sleep with them. Let me use this medium to commend the courage of those female students who protested recently in Lagos, we must also note that boys are not left out. I just hope that they will develop the requisite courage too someday. There are other lecturers who put unnecessary apprehension in their students, threatening to fail them for no just cause. One wonders what joy they derive by failing their students. These must not be allowed in our ivory towers. Our higher institutions ought to be places of academic pursuit both for the advancement of our nation and the individual student. We must also checkmate exam malpractice in our higher institutions. This like corruption is like a cankerworm that has eaten deeply into the fabric of our educational system. Here, students, parents and lecturers are all complicit. It requires a high sense of commitment and responsibility to be able to fight this scourge. The good news is that it is no an impossible task to embark upon. The employers of labour always complain that graduates are half baked. We do not need a prophet to tell us that some of the issues discussed above, account for this. However, the problem is not just with our universities, it is one that permeates all sectors of an individual’s educational life. The massive failures recorded in both WAEC and NECO is a pointer to the fact that our educational system rests on a time bomb. Less we forget, only ten people scored above 300 in the last UTME examination conducted by JAMB. No responsible government should sit and fold its arms in the midst of all these indices. Government must rise and act as fast as it can. Action is the only thing that will prevent Nigeria and its educational sector from the impending collapse. God bless Nigeria. Frank O. Ijege 08032093229 frankijege@yahoo.com