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