ASUU AND PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
ASUU should look beyond a sorely disappointing government
The federal government may, now, not be able to release the volume of funds needed to service its agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that last week extended its current nationwide strike by eight weeks. But the huge trust deficit that exists between them and the protracted argument about the appropriate salary payment platform have pushed farther any prospect for peace and resolution of this unfortunate crisis. The last nationwide strike lasted almost one calendar year. With politics now taking the centre-stage in the prelude to the 2023 general election, this warning strike could easily become indefinite. We urge the federal government to consider the implications on the future of our country.
These strikes have contributed significantly to the decline in the quality of graduates of our public universities. The hurried academic calendars allow for little attention to serious studies. That is why our public universities have continued to go down the ladder of academic ranking, even among their peers in Africa. But we understand the point being made by ASUU even if we don’t agree with their method. Under-funding the education sector, over the years, has had collateral damaging effects on the country, such that our universities have now become grotesque carcasses of their former glorious selves. But the lecturers are part of the problem: Commercialisation of academic grades and poorly written handouts, delayed dissertation, award of questionable degrees and all manner of unwholesome practices have combined to practically ruin university education in Nigeria.
The weak financial conditions in the universities are exacerbated by the current crippling economic crisis afflicting the nation. Yet besides personnel costs, funds are required to rehabilitate dilapidated facilities, purchase consumables and aid research. However, dealing with the challenge of thin liquidity requires more than seasonal strikes by both the academic and non-academic staff while the federal government must also understand the primacy of constant dialogue, especially given the current realities. Ignoring or blackmailing ASUU will not resolve the problem, but the lecturers must also be realistic in their demands.
While we support the clamour for increased funding, we nonetheless think that given the dwindling resources of government, the tertiary institutions need to think out of the box and find more creative solutions to the problem. Elsewhere, universities have explored several ways of raising money to fund their operations. In this regard, ours need not reinvent the wheel. The common avenues include donations, endowments, professional chairs, gifts, grants, and consultancy services. We note that many of our universities have embarked on these, but their performance needs to be stepped up. Clearly, much more work must be done to shore up internally generated revenue to wean the universities of their virtual total dependence on government funding. More importantly, the administrators also need to manage their resources prudently and transparently. Part of the challenge in several cases has been misappropriation of funds kept in their care.
Overall, we must find better ways of fixing the university system broken finance in Nigeria. This is essential to resolving their perpetual financial crisis and to ensure that our graduates compete globally in the knowledge world. As a way of addressing the problems, we believe it is time these alternative sources of funding were devised. Government could help spread the risks around. There could be financial assistance for poor but bright students in form of scholarships and bursaries, but the issue of tuition must be addressed immediately. But we need the right policies that would provide alternative sources of funding, attract quality academic and non-academic staff, provide necessary teaching aids, and ensure conducive learning environment for students. The best universities in the world attract the best academics and supply global employment market. But someone must bear the cost.
