NO one single sentence can succinctly capture the rot that has
progressively emasculated Nigeria’s education sector.
The dysfunction is exemplified in the current strike by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities , which started on July 1
over funding dispute. The industrial action has grounded
activities in federal and state Universities , sending
undergraduates out of school for almost four months.
For a leader who wants to leave a mark, the prolonged ASUU
strike should be an opportunity for President Goodluck
Jonathan to jump-start a serious discussion about the future
of higher education in Nigeria. Since the government and
teachers have failed to agree, an emergency has to be declared
so that the problem can be solved holistically.
There are two main issues arising from the Federal
Government’s non-implementation of the 2009 agreement
between the lecturers and the government that forced them
(lecturers) to embark on their “total strike.” The first is the
non-payment of “earned allowances”, or overtime pay. ASUU
has a N92 billion figure for this.
Out of this, the government, claiming that it would go
bankrupt if it had to meet all of ASUU ’s demands, has
provided N30 billion. ASUU however insists that the money
has to be fully paid before lecturers can return to their
teaching posts.
Should there be this kind of shameful hubbub in a nation
that earned about N11 trillion in revenues in 2012? It
shouldn’t if the two parties are focused.
Two, ASUU , seeing the degradation of hostel accommodation,
libraries, laboratories and research in Nigerian universities,
wants the government to fund infrastructure development
with N400 billion.
According to Nyesom Wike, the minister supervising the
education Ministry, the government has provided N100
billion, and has added another N100 billion sourced from the
Tertiary education Trust Fund. This leaves a balance of N200
billion, which, again, ASUU insists must be given before it
calls off its strike.
But it is a fatal flaw for the lecturers to think that meeting the
demands of ASUU will end the rot in the education system,
and restore the sector to the halcyon days. No, it won’t. In
fact, paying off the lecturers will only paper the deep cracks
bedevilling the sector. This is not in the interest of the nation,
and is certainly not good for the students and parents who
have been calling on the government to end their ordeal.
Meeting the lecturers’ demands will only cement the
tarnished era producing half-baked, poorly-educated
graduates who are not fit for the labour market.
The rot in the University system is deep. To be successful in
their research and teaching missions, Universities need to be
able to take their own decisions, which only organisational,
financial, staffing and academic autonomy can guarantee. But
Nigerian public Universities are run like an extension of a
government agency. ASUU says circulars are emanating in
most cases from the National Universities Commission, NUC ,
interfering in the day-to-day running of the Universities .
While governing councils of Universities are dissolved at a
drop of a hat, vice chancellors are reportedly summoned by
SMS to come to Abuja.
Since 1999, when Nigeria returned to civil rule, lecturers have
been on strike for a total of “30 months out of 156 months, or
20 per cent of the total time in the past 13 years,” according to
TheScoop, an online publication. “This is an equivalent of six
semesters or three academic sessions,” the publication added.
The worst of the strikes lasted for six months between 2003
and 2004 when lecturers demanded that professors had to
retire at the age of 70. But more than this, our whole
education structure is in a shambles. From primary to
secondary and tertiary levels, education in Nigeria has
collapsed. Standards in Universities are at historic lows, yet,
private Universities unjustifiably issue first class degrees to
their products.
The problem is that there is so much corruption in the
system. Universities not only mismanage the little funds being
given to them, they also engage in unwholesome practices
such as extortion and examination fraud. With wanton
abandonment, they regularly admit more intakes than their
carrying capacity, with a school like the University of Ibadan,
which can carry only 12,000 students, having 40,000.
How to resolve the problem?
Our Universities face a grim choice. First, declare a
moratorium in the establishment of new public Universities
and review the guidelines for private ones. The present
number of 74 federal and state Universities is unwieldy and
the Federal Government is fooling itself that it can fund its
own share. As a matter of urgency, Abuja has to stop the 12
new federal Universities it established with a grant of N1
billion each earlier this year.
This is a political joke carried too far as it will worsen the
funding crisis. As a nation, we have to come to the painful
reality that it is time to declare an emergency in education that
will lead to a total overhaul of the system. Infusions of more
public money will not clear the rot. Ghana has gone this path
before so it should not be seen as a bad proposition.
Academic excellence is the hallmark of University education,
but it does not come cheap. Our Universities ’ overdependence
on public funding is not neat enough. State Universities have
to be separated from federal ones in the new system since
their sources of income are not the same. While the Federal
Government collects 52.68 per cent of public income, and
states 26.72 per cent, it is unjust to subject the workers on the
two platforms to the same reward system.
It should be noted that Universities are not simply vocational
Institutions churning out graduates to meet the needs of the
marketplace, and a degree is not merely a meal ticket. A well-
educated citizenry is a benefit both to the individual and to
the state. Our public Universities need huge funds to repair
decades of neglect. Also, it is time to introduce tuition for
University education , as painful as it seems. University
education is expensive and those who desire it must be ready
to pay, since the government cannot fund it wholly. The
United Kingdom may raise its University tuition benchmark
from £9,000 to £16,000 per session; undergraduates pay
heavily in the United States though a level of subsidy and
scholarships are provided by the state.
If we must put the knowledge economy at the heart of the
nation’s development, the deception that goes with funding of
our University education must end. We must set the compass
in the right direction. While parasitic bureaucracies like the
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board should be scrapped,
the NUC , a creation of the military that has over-centralised
the system, has to be overhauled.

Nice intellectual write up

Source please. I reserve my comments until I confirm this report.

Source?

Osahon7: Source?

http://untilassucalloffstrike.com

Fabulousuzo: http://untilassucalloffstrike.com

VNTI

Bros do u think high tution fee thats wat determine the performance of undergraduate? Pls av a retink....these UK nd USA rubbish ppl r blabin do u tink if UK had the resource nigeria have they wil pay tution few? Try use google nd check u see many european unis that are tution free. The real problem wit nigeria is management as u rightly said pls dnt spoil wat u av research wit d trash of tution fee, the so called private varsities sm there medicine is abt 1million naira per session, pls tel me where they are placed in world rankin or nigeria ranking... The fact remains the problem with nigeria is nt d funding bt lack of dedicated staff, most found themselves in classrooms accidentally because no job in the country dats just d truth. For our education to come to world standard we need an overhaul frm d primary education to d uni. This my opinion

Stupid ple

i no see where dem talk abt additional 200bn for dis post ooo.any ay d source is www.osundefender.com

ok.