Aftermath Of Asuu Crisis

By Fola Lawal

Finally, the ASUU strike has been called off or suspended. Reason has prevailed on both sides and we sincerely hope such will not occur again in Nigeria. But for such not to occur, there is need for close monitoring of the agreement reached and what is generally happening at our various citadels of education.

We believe that each university has annual budget outlining the projects to be embarked upon and the disbursement and internally generated funds. We need to have a close look at these. Further, the myriads of funds coming from Education Trust Fund and the Corporate Social Responsibility by the private sector, coupled with funds contributed by the Federal Government as agreed. We believe in a couple of years our universities will be compared to the best in Africa if not the world, if all these funds were well managed.

There is another factor: we need to have a critical appraisal of the curriculum of our various universities. They need to be overhauled to meet the demands of modern workforce. University education must be made to be functional and pragmatic, no matter what course an undergraduate might have undergone. Emphasis must be on the practical aspect than theoretical. A mechanical engineering student must be able to know the rudiments of an engine and how it works practically before leaving the institution. Thesis must be tailored to the problems solving of the society and not abstracts. This same method must be applicable to all other courses.

The university course admission quota must be made relevant to the needs of the society at large.  The university system should be able to get a feedback from the employers on the courses most relevant to their successes; there should be a cooperation or synergy between the private and public sectors and the universities. Universities system as we run it now should not be an island unto itself. It should be interdependent on the needs of the larger society and helping in solving such problems.

Grooming must be made relevant in the education sector. Students must start living their professional lives right on the campus. Some universities have been doing this already in terms of mode of dressing for some courses. University education while it should be expressive and creative should not encourage indecency.

The antics of the lecturers should be watched. The ability to be able to profess and impart sound and unbiased education to students should be monitored. It is noteworthy that NUC has given deadline to lecturers without Ph.D to acquire same. This is a step in the right direction if followed to the letter. The performances of the lecturers should be monitored. The various organs of the universities set up for this purpose must be alive to their responsibilities, The need for lecturers to attend to their classes promptly and also update their knowledge, especially with the information technology revolution in vogue should not be understated.

Lecturers need to attend refresher courses and retreats to update their knowledge. Those lecturers failing students unnecessarily should be advised and cautioned. Their competency is being called to question if students fail woefully in their courses.

The harassment of female students by lecturers though not formally condoned by any institution must stop. There must be unfettered access to education by the students and lecturers must desist from bullying the students either emotionally or verbally. An ideal condition must be created for dissemination of knowledge.

There should be need for exchange of lecturers from different universities on a short time basis for comparison of knowledge dissemination and its efficacy. This peer group review must be made mandatory to be able to monitor the progress in each field of education and have an appropriate feedback monitoring system for amelioration. We should not allow the system to be disrupted before a fire brigade approach is applied. There is need for holistic approach to education. There must be a caution to this, as not to encourage the present practice where a single lecturer will be plying his trade in more than one institution. This should be discouraged and penalized, especially where it is not to the formal knowledge of the authority of the institution.

The infrastructure must be totally overhauled and upgraded. Lecture rooms must not only be available and spacious enough but be made comfortable for learning. It is not common for students to receive lectures standing by the window sides or inside the lecture rooms because of unavailability of space.

The issue of hostel accommodation must be addressed. Students living within school monitored environment will be easy to control and imbibe the culture of decent living which is useful when they graduate and start living in the larger society. Even where the school is not providing accommodation which should be the ideal situation, they should be able to monitor what is going on in those  hostels off campus directly or indirectly as happenings in those hostels usually have ripple effect on the school system. There is nothing bad in the school asking each student staying outside the campus to leave their addresses with the authority.

There is no gainsaying that for our universities to reach the enviable heights which we all yearn for, everybody must work hard to attain that goal. The issue cannot be left to funding alone. ASUU must play a greater role in this regard.

•Lawal wrote from Lagos.