EDITORIAL: Yet another unending ASUU strike
With the lifting of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown, the trouble with the Nigerian university system is now in full public glare. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) commenced its latest industrial strike on 16th of March, 2020, about two weeks ahead of the lockdown. With the lockdown affecting virtually all of society, it was not so obvious that students in public universities were not in school because ASUU was on strike and not because the pandemic was raging. If ASUU was not on strike, it might have been possible for Nigeria’s public university system to carry on by adapting to the “new normal” of e-learning.
Private universities in the country did and have managed it somewhat. Even if there would have been great difficulty, there would have been a start and by now, some critical capacity would have been developed. Following the recent directive by the Ministry of Education that universities should reopen, ASUU promptly reminded the government that the industrial dispute with the government was yet unresolved.
Private universities across the country have since resumed fully, adopting different approaches to blended learning. Unfortunately, resumption is not in the horizon for public universities. As if the situation was not bad enough, government appears to be digging the trenches deeper by some of its actions and the utterances of some of its principal agents. For example, statements credited to the Minister of State for Education suggests that the government’s official policy at this time does not regard universities as critical to national development. Or what else can be made of the declaration by the minister that university lecturers who are dissatisfied with their remuneration should quit and turn to farming?
With ASUU on record as having gone on strike about 15 times in the last 20 years, it may readily come across as belligerent. However, a close look at most ASUU strikes shows that the thrust of ASUU demands remains the provision of adequate funding of public universities established by the government. Universities are supposed to be the engine rooms for knowledge creation and they must be nurtured if Nigeria is to move forward from its current place in the league of less developed countries. Adequate funding for universities is a multi-pronged need that cannot be served once and for all. Universities must be adequately funded to procure facilities, infrastructure, and human resources to undertake world-class research and carry out world-class teaching that enables them to produce the knowledge and skills for undergraduates.
Therefore, adequate funding of universities should not be seen as an act of government beneficence. ASUU is not an enemy of the state when it draws attention to funding deficits and other governmental inactions. The current ASUU strike was declared because the federal government once again has reneged on its pledges and obligations. If ASUU is audacious for taking the federal government to task for its failure to keep to the agreement, this is in pursuit of the best interest of Nigeria. If the federal government is unable to discharge its obligations under an agreement it voluntarily contracted, the better approach is for it to seek to renegotiate the terms of the agreement with the other party.
What is at stake is the credibility and integrity of government. Indeed, the Nigerian government must strive to be a role model to its citizens. It is heartening that the Senate has held a meeting with ASUU executives and questioned why the government ever entered into an agreement it could not honour. As the arm of government responsible for Budget Appropriation it behooves the legislature to work with the Executive to ensure that financial implications of government contractual commitments are adequately taken care of at the stage of appropriation and through its oversight responsibility ensure that the appropriation is effectively implemented.
ASUU’s demand that government provide additional funds to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the higher education sector is reasonable. The new normal in relation to teaching and learning in the post-COVID era comes with the need for expansive deployment of technology to support the blended teaching and learning approach. Without a coordinated strategic response aimed at ensuring affordable access to the infrastructure of support, only the students from rich homes would participate effectively in the new normal environment.
Heeding ASUU’s voice of counsel would also require government to take the lead in interfacing with private providers of power and digital infrastructure to improve access for all. Our hope is that government will change its approach and engage ASUU in a more constructive manner. We call on ASUU to shift some ground because no one, least of all ASUU needs to be educated on the negative toll of a protracted strike on the educational system. We therefore say, please, open our universities, now.
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