14 Sep 2009 |
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Abstract and Introduction
This essay is a commentary on the current imbroglio between ASUU and The Federal Government; its effect on our educational system and recommendations on how the situation can be resolved. I will try to remain as neutral and objective in my analysis since I am neither a student nor an academic nor a government employee but only a concerned citizen. In the last three months, ASUU has down tools and as a result, all universities other than the UniIlorin, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Osun State University and the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria have been shutdown with their students idling away at home. The basic crux of the matter is that ASUU claimed to have had an agreement with the federal government in 2006 which the latter is refusing to honor while those on the other side say that there is no such agreement but only a proposal that ASUU drafted and sent to the government in which, some government officials accepted to study. Even in the light of this, ASUU have had a series of agreements with the Government where such issues as “the principle of collective bargaining”, autonomy, academic freedom, academic allowances, conditions of service and increase in funding of Education have been settled. Other issues that have been resolved during this stalemate are: Salaries of university lecturers which have been raised by 40%. The retirement age for professors is now the same as Supreme Court justices at 70 years. The allocation to education in the 2009 has increased from N210.3b last year to N224.8b this year (Source: budgetoffice.gov.ng), while the Education Trust Fund is injecting N31b in educational programmes.
“ Education consists of a series of enchantments, each raising the individual to a higher level of awareness, understanding, and kinship with all living things and It is the role of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
ASUU Demands
1. Address the Deplorable state of the universities. Everyone knows the situation of our schools. There are over–crowded classrooms, under-equipped laboratories and absentee lecturers who pass on their responsibility to unqualified graduate assistants to lecture the students. There are even allegations that lecturers sleep with female students and receive bribes to give such students favorable marks. These factors have contributed to make the average Nigerian graduate half-baked and less respected than their peers who studied abroad. Both the Federal Authorities and ASUU have to share the blame for this ordeal that the Nigerian students have to go through once granted admission to any of our universities. T he decay of our institutions of higher learning has been attributed to the inadequate funding by Government over the years while the incessant strikes by ASUU have watered down the quality of teaching. The resulting disjointed academic calendar has given rise to a situation where students are rushed to write exams after strikes are called off instead of continuing with some productive academic work. At the beginning of this crisis in June, ASUU claimed they were fighting to improve the deplorable state of the universities but from what has transpired so far, it seems there is more emphasis is being laid on their remuneration.
2. Raise in Salaries
ASUU have asked for an increase in salaries and the Federal Government have offered 40% rise in wages. Yet, ASUU is still adamant on continuing with the strike insisting that the government honor a previous agreement. I can’t say how much money is enough for ASUU, God knows I need more money myself but I sincerely hope the spirit of compromise can prevail in order for the students to continue their education. I read ASUU’s open letter to the President from ASUU’s website and there was an interesting comparison table in which the salaries of senior public officers and senators were juxtaposed with that of a Professor.
ANNUAL SALARIES OF CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFICERS Permanent Secretary, Executive Secretary, Chief Executive of Parastatal,Vice Chancellor N22,051,154.30 Professor N3,859,078.60 Federal high Court Judge N26,875,840.00 Local Government Chairman N13,865,895.30 Local Government Supervisory Councilor N12,746,875.00 Federal House Member N35,932,346.30 Senator N36,677,840.00
(Source: ASUU website.)
Anyone one looking at the table above would notice the very wide disparity between the salary of a senator (N36m per annum) and Professor (N3M per annum) but I question the motive behind bringing such comparisons up. If anything, it look like a very low blow. Are ASUU saying they want to earn like senators? If they do then the logical step for them is to join politics; pick up nomination forms, go through the rigorous campaigning and elections. One might also argue that these public officers do not deserve these high wages especially in the face of widespread poverty in our country but we must restrain ourselves from making a mockery of these democratic offices. Elective offices and the Judiciary are very sensitive positions that cannot be allowed to be easily compromised by the money bags. Besides, the inflated salaries of senators and other public officers is a direct result of the monetization policy of the Obasanjo Administration. Previously, before that policy started, senators and other public officers were averaging between 2-4m annually.The Obasanjo administration decided to pay public officers who are entitled to official cars and houses, the monetary value of those items instead of maintaining them. The administration considered this to be cheaper in the long run. Anyway, I don’t see that as a valid reason to justify one’s pay raise. I would prefer if one negotiates a pay raise based on the basis of one’s productivity and value-added rather than childishly compare oneself to senators. For example imagine a bank manager using the MD’s salary as a justification to ask for more money.
“If ASSU want to earn like senators then they have to become senators.”
I suspect the reason ASUU is not using productivity as a basis for demanding more pay is due to the lack of it. Consider this, what new knowledge have our lecturers added to the scientific body compared to their counterparts abroad? 3. Autonomy
In respect to autonomy, university councils have now taken over the full responsibility of administering the higher institutions. They hire both academic and non-academic staff and appoint vice chancellors without government input. Ideally, ASUU should be dialoguing with different university councils, and not the Federal Government, as far as conditions of service are concerned. The thing about autonomy is that it can be double-edged. The withdrawal of government subvention would lead to a corresponding rise in school fees thereby putting tertiary education out of the reach of low-income families.
Attitude In life, one might be fighting for the right thing but the manner in which the battle is fought might rob it of its morality. I learnt that Professor Akachukwu Awuzie the president of ASUU declared at the end of an ASUU meeting that, “It is better to die fighting on our feet, instead of crawling on our knees”. I find this statement to be very disturbing not just that is highly provocative but it is indicative of an “Overlord” mentality of the ASUU leadership. Such show of bravado and grand standing really does not have a place in civil society. Furthermore, ASUU have refused to obey a direct order by The Industrial Arbitration Panel to resume work by August 24. Surely, ASUU are not conducting themselves as the best of employees. They need to present their case articulately devoid of “gangsterism” and tone down their rhetoric in order to get the support of the populace.
Deadlock
The deadlock in the negotiations is mainly due to the Federal Government’s refusal to sign an agreement that would compel state sovernments to pay the academic staff of their universities the same wages as their counterparts in federal universities. The state governors have even threatened to sue the federal government if they sign any agreement that is binding on them. Some say that the reason that ASUU is insisting on this issue is that the Head of ASUU is an employee of a state university.
The Way Forward
The Federal Government needs to make education a top priority because no nation can advance without it. They must stop paying lip-service to Education and give it the proper funding it deserves. The budget for Education should be substantially increased from what it is now. Monitoring teams and agencies must be empowered to enforce the highest possible standards within all institutions of higher learning. Lecturers must be made accountable to constituted authority and of course their customers– the students. By now I am sure, Nigerian students must be tired of strikes and most importantly they would be tired of being used as pawns in ASUU’s battle with the Federal government. ASUU are composed of some of the brightest minds in Nigeria today. To use strike as the only option to resolve issues shows a gaping lack of creativity and imagination on the part of the ASUU. Surely, there must be another way? Some have gone as far as saying that that there might not much difference between ASUU and Niger-Delta Militants. While the militants use foreigners as hostages, ASUU uses students as a bargaining chip to press home their demands. It seems we as a people have not shed our siege mentality developed during the military era when strikes were used to coerce the ruling military junta to the round table since there were limited forms of representation. I seriously doubt their efficacy in a democratic setting where the wheels of change grinds more slowly thus requiring a more subtle, astute and diplomatic approach. In the United States for instance when an industry … say for example the pharmaceutical or insurance industry have an agenda, they employ the use of lobbyists to advance their cause to the lawmakers who then script laws that would be favorable to that particular industry. Even the Nigeria media adopted that approach to achieve the Freedom of Information Bill although the president has not signed it and HITV also employed similar tactics to get the rights for the English Premiership. What stops ASUU from doing the same? I am a strong believer in using the current apparatus of government to effect the right change. That is how slavery was abolished; the Afro-Americans got their civil rights and so on. One should not throw the baby with the bath water. The democratic process we have might not be perfect but it is the only freedom we’ve got. It would be too simplistic say which side is wrong or right. Everyone in Nigeria enjoys bashing the government. In a country where bad governance is so prevalent, any talk of the government incompetence is usually greeted with resounding applause. But a proper assessment of the situation will reveal that despite the inadequacies of government, the ASUU leadership has become unmanageable. Therefore, both parties in sharing the blame need to have the interests Nigerian students at heart in so doing will align their decisions along the acceptable lines of reason.
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