For a very long time, the Nigerian University education has suffered a number of strike actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which ultimately send students back home and halt the academic activities in the university. These strike actions, most often start with a warning strike; the aim of which is to give room to both ASUU and other stakeholders (mostly the government) to proper solution to the problem causing the industrial action. Unfortunately, almost all the time, the warning strike always matures into a comprehensive, total and indefinite strike.
Since the return of democracy (1999), ASUU went on strike about six to seven times, for varying reasons. Recently, ASUU started a warning strike in march 2020 which matured into the current total, indefinite strike. The major points of the current strike action will be highlighted one after the other. However, it is worthy of note that these things that the ASUU is demanding (except the IPPIS), were agreed upon, with timelines; by the Nigerian government in the memorandum of action (MoA) it signed with ASUU on February 7th, 2019.
1. Revitalisation fund for public universities:
The ASUU argued that for Nigerian Universities to compete with their counterparts in different parts of the world (including other African countries), there is serious need for adequate funding of the universities. The Nigerian universities are battling different kinds of problems related to funding: ranging from lack of enough offices for lecturers, lack of modern teaching and learning materials, outdated laboratories & equipment, inadequate classrooms and lecture theatres etc. The ASUU and the FG agreed to a system of funding that will see timely release of funds for revitalisation at specific intervals. Unfortunately, no release of funds after the first tranch.
2. Earned Academic Allowance (EAA):
The EAA is a legitimate allowance that the university staff earn through different means. Examples of such means include, responsibility allowance, shift duty, overtime, duty tours, excess work load etc. These allowance is paid separately after accumulation. However, the ASUU and the FG are now looking for a way to integrate this Allowance into the monthly salary. According to the Lagos zonal coordinator of the union, Mr. Olusiji Sowande, the union's EAA has been calculated and verified to be ₦40bn up to 2013. Several millions is being owed from 2014 to 2020 ( Azeezat Adedigba, Premium times).
3. Renegotiation of 2009 Agreement:
The major issues in the 2009 agreement are: Condition of service, funding, university autonomy & academic freedom. These are in essence, the backbone of the ASUU agitation all the while.
4. Visitation panel to universities:
For federal Universities, the chief visitor is Mr. President and for state universities, the respective governors of the states. However, because of the stringent nature of commitment of the first office of the country or state, it is enough for them to set up a visitation panel; a group of people the govt appoints to visit the universities for the purpose of auditing and intervention on administrative matters. Where there are problems, the university administration and the governing council brief the visitation panel which then investigate into the matter and make recommendations to the chief visitor for implementation. ASUU decried the negligence of visitation to Universities as a major source of infractions in the university system.
5. Proliferation of Universities:
ASUU decried the establishment of new Universities (both federal & state) when the existing ones are obviously underfunded. The increase in number of Universities is not the problem here. The problem is, the lack of proper arrangement for the funding of the newly established universities. The TETFUND is burden so much with infrastructural intervention funding in all tertiary institutions as well as staff development. After the establishment of a new university by either Federal or state govt, TETFUND is left with the responsibility of developing the new university, in addition to existing universities; in both infrastructure and staff development.
According to ASUU president, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, some of the universities established are needless. In his words: Federal and state govts are establishing universities without funding them. For instance, why do we need a university of transportation, or that of information & communication technology (ICT)? All these can be taken care of by the existing public universities (News agency of Nigeria, 18th July, 2020).
5. Integrated personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS):
According to ASUU, the IPPIS is just a distraction to take away their attention from pursuing the implementation of the 2019 MoA which contains the points so far discussed. The IPPIS was conceptualised around October 2006, and came into use by April, 2007. The system was adopted in order to reduce leakages through salaries in FG MDAs, and also to centralise the civil service payment and information. According to the accountant-general of the federation, Ahmed Idris, the FG saved ₦163bn in the last two years via IPPIS. However, this contradicts the ₦206bn quoted by the director of IPPIS, Olufehinti Olusegun.
The university union is opposing the IPPIS mainly because if imposed on Universities, it will snatch away the freedom granted to Nigerian universities by law (University Autonomy act 2007). ASUU also felt the IPPIS is only suitable for main stream civil service. There are also evident problems of overpayment, underpayment, stoppage of salary, haphazard deductions etc associated with the IPPIS.
However, the ASUU offered to give the govt an alternative platform which they named UTAS (University Transparency and Accountability Solution). The advantages of UTAS over IPPIS as outlined by the ASUU are: it is cheaper and home grown, it will capture the peculiarities of the university system which the IPPIS failed to capture. The govt have since agreed to accept the UTAS and subject it to integrity test for adoption upon passing the test and getting certified by NITDA.
CONCLUSION
The Nigerian University system has suffered a series of disruptions for too long. This is mainly due to the failure of the govt to give education the attention it deserves. The ASUU on the other hand, has failed to read the govt and therefore proper a better way forward. In the end, Nigerian students are always at the receiving end of the face-off. It is every nigerian's prayer that an end is put to the problem in our education sector.
It is exactly as the president of the senate, Sen. Ahmed Lawan, said during a meeting in Abuja between the leadership of ASUU and some principal officers of the senate: Government cannot have all its way and I believe ASUU should not expect to get everything it has asked for.
Eight (8) months into the strike, the ASUU and the FG, after several meetings; are yet to find a common ground.
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