Caleb Ifeanyi Onah, PBA Journalism MenteeBy Caleb Ifeanyi Onah
Beyond the mere actions of schools closing down and students returning home, there is more going down the drain unnoticed for every strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The consequences is one word which if the present government consciously take to heart will not only help her find a better ground with the striking unions but also gain better comprehension of their demands and greater readiness to solve them.
Good decision makers and leaders don’t just act because they need to, but much more because of the consequences of not doing so to the entire nation and populace.
What is really at stake?
The current ASUU has been on for about four months now with no end in sight. Many face dilemma after several strikes. Nobody is calm while in the midst of a raging storm because instability is a surety to achieving nothing. In the sea of uncertainty, people hardly make progress. These words aptly describe the current ordeal of many Nigerian students in the face of incessant strikes.
Having interacted with many students, I have come to understand that the underlying fact is many are confused, frustrated, and uncertain, being trapped in the dilemma of whether to go forward, stay, or take some steps backward in terms of engaging in some economic ventures, all due to the instability of the educational system in the country.
During a chat with Gift Okechukwu, a 300 level psychology student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (UNIZIK), she narrated students’ current ordeal as thus “just when you are about to take the next big step and channel the time and energy into a business or something else, here comes the strike called off; then you decide to give it the another trial by resuming, buying the necessary text books and renewing your house rent, and may be a week lecture, then, here comes the most devastating news of your life, ‘ASUU to Go on a one Week Strike as Government Fails to Meet her Demands.”
Speaking further, she said the constant fluctuations in the academic activities cause many to withdraw from school and engage in other fruitful ventures.
She said many in utter frustration and distrust in the education and governance system, leave school to get married (for the girls) as that tends to be the next possible option for them. This in its own way contributes to the rising cases of domestic violence and divorce in the nation as people tend to go into marriage for the wrong reason seeing it as an escape from what they consider as meaningless life and a dysfunctional educational system. Such marriages hardly last as they may not have been built on solid foundation.
An index report released by the International Youth Foundation (IYF), and the centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) ranked Nigerian youths as the least happy in the world.
All of these reflect a growing sign of distrust not just for the governing body but towards the educational system too.
This also explains why able young men and women continue to flee the country in search of riches and greener pastures abroad at whatever cost.
Breed of Incompetence
Focus and consistency are not just good qualities but are core values responsible for ensuring excellent, and competent outcomes. Quality is as a result of much focused attention on a specific thing or area.
Among the many reasons responsible for the issue of incompetence in the number of graduates churned out yearly from universities in the country is the lack of consistency in academic activities as a result of incessant strikes caused by an uncaring government.
As one thing leads to the other an incompetent person is sure to be irrelevant as well in terms of lack or no skills acquired during his or her academic sojourn.
Very true is that tough situations make competent, resilient and excellent leaders and champions, however, this cannot be the case for the larger majority, therefore, at all cost, quality educational structures should and must be put in place to ensure that the majority of the people who graduate are properly trained and equipped to compete in the larger space.
For example, America is nation where many have defied and conquered seemingly impossible feats unto notable positions. In such a place, the average majority is able to compete in the global market because high priority attention is given to the educational system (bearing in mind, the consequences of not doing so) and properly structured to ensure that the least man is capable and competent and of course relevant in the global space.
Excellence, competence and ingenuity are qualities that are unknowingly being traded off with the ASUU’s industrial action caused by a government that is insensitive to consequences of such, even on the future of her youths.
Deeper Consequences
In Federal University of Ekiti (FUOYE) alone 15,000 out of 17,000 students reportedly, owe school fees as of 2018/2019 session.
A lecturer in the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) said that for each session he creates possible ways of paying for the school fees of tens of students in the campus.
This shows the trauma students pass through to have tertiary education. What good then is strike to students, or parents whose children fall into this category as their deepest longing of such people is to do all in their power to quickly graduate. Typically, every strike becomes a frustration to their effort to graduating from the university.
The plight of parents
For many parents, every strike is first a call to pain and regrets over the wasted funds on for instance, on accommodation, which may have been sorted through borrowing and many days and nights of toiling and hustling only to become wasted efforts. This same pain and regrets bedevils the students who fend for themselves.
The thought of where the next accommodation and upkeep money would come from, depending on when the strike is called off, becomes an uneasy or even impossible road to travel as they may be reeling on the heavy weight of indebtedness.
Mrs Blessing, a trader and mother of two who is currently in tertiary institution, lamented over the disruption of the academic activities due to the strike, noting that it greatly affects learning.
The Pain of Lecturers
Many academic staff in tertiary institutions are facing hard times. A lecturer in UNN, Mr Obasi of the Department of Theatre and Film Studies who lamented about the lingering strike, said all have a fair share of the impact, from the students, parents, to the lecturers and down to the business concerns in campus.
Speaking on the ‘no work no pay policy’ devised by the government, Obasi said it has really been hard on him as a family man as he has to abide by a strict scale of preference for their spending or else go hungry.
This is the current plight of lecturers supposedly believed to be playing the most crucial role of breeding responsible citizens of the society and leaders of tomorrow.
It equally has impact on critical thinking. The challenges lecturers in tertiary institutions face can be likened to capable fisher men in the midst of an ocean but lacking good fishing instrument.
Impact on Businesses in Campuses
Unfortunately businesses around university environment thrive only when students are available as they constitute the major population of customers.
Having months of schools close down due to strike has indeed spelt doom for such establishments as the owners are left with less or no choice but lock shops and search for other sources of income.
Some parents who have their all-time investment in such campus businesses, only resort to regrets and jittery when schools close down for long periods as is the case now.
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