For thousands of students in polytechnics
and colleges of education nationwide, the turn of events in the last
one week, which happened a few days apart, was a welcome relief.
Last week Saturday, after 10 months of
inactivity, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics suspended its
indefinite strike action for three months to the relief of their
students.
The suspension, which was announced after
the National Executive Council meeting of the union, was the aftermath
of an earlier meeting with the newly appointed Minister of Education,
Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.
Students of the Colleges of Education did
not have to wait too long as this was followed on Tuesday by the
announcement that the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union has
also suspended its eight-month strike in principle. This was after the
intervention of the Chairmen of Governing Councils of Federal Colleges
of Education.
While ASUP had been on strike since October, 2013; COEASU embarked on a strike in December, 2013.
In both meetings with the unions, both
ASUP and COEASU were given assurances that the thorny issues that led to
the strikes would be resolved.
“We believe that, considering the
pedigree of the minister, the promises he has made, and the testimonies
we have received concerning him, we have no reason to doubt his
integrity and capacity to actually bring a lasting solution to the
issues,” the President of ASUP, Chibuzo Asomugha, who confirmed the
suspension of the strike, told SUNDAY PUNCH last Saturday.
It was the same view expressed by the
President, National Association of Colleges of Education Academic Staff
Union, Mr. Asagha Nkoro. Nkoro later told SUNDAY PUNCH that he hoped the issues which led to the strike would be fully resolved.
For students, their relief was evident as academic activities picked up in their various institutions.
At the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos,
students expressed their feelings to our correspondent who visited the
institution during the week.
For a National Diploma student of the department of Arts and Design, Mr. Emmanuel Oladele, it was mixed emotions.
“I am happy on one hand and sad on the
other hand that the strike has been called off. This is because,
although the strike has been called off, the school has not resumed
fully. I don’t see the essence of calling the strike off if lectures
will not commence fully. I went to my Head of Department and he said the
Federal Government had to pay three months of their salaries first
before they start anything. We hope that the money is paid to them and
we can begin lectures in earnest,” said Oladele, who added that he used
the period of the strike to develop his graphic skills.
For some, they could only hope that there won’t be another strike in the near future.
A year one student of civil engineering,
Mr. Wole Oyi, said that although he was glad the strike had been
suspended, the time lost by the students can never be regained.
“I am happy that I’m back in school
because sitting at home for 10 months was not funny at all. If not for
the strike, I would have been in ND II by now. I pray the strike is
completely called off. It has not only affected our school calendar, it
is also affecting our future. We don’t want strike anymore. It is not
possible to go for the National Youth Service Corps scheme this year
because of the strike,” he told SUNDAY PUNCH.
Luckily, for Ms. Glory Udoh, she
graduated just before ASUP on strike started last October. Udoh, an HND
graduate of Microbiology from Yabatech, said she came to start her
clearance to make the NYSC batch in August.
“The strike affected us students,
especially those who had carry-over courses. They can’t meet up with the
service batch in August because of those courses they have not written.
So, they have to wait till next year. Also, ordinarily, a student
should be able to say he or she can graduate at a particular year, but
these academic strikes disrupt that plan and one can’t predict one’s
year of graduation,” she said.
In her view, ASUP should have called off the strike totally rather than suspend it for three months.
“After 10 months of strike, I don’t see
the essence of the three-month suspension. They (the union and Federal
Government) ought to have settled everything by now, call it off totally
and move on. This is because the future of the students is at stake.
Students also have other important things they want to do with their
lives after their education,” she added.
Many other students lamented the fact
that the academic calendar has been affected by the strike and would
need to be re-arranged. “I just hope lectures can start soon enough,”
said Ms. Sholape Olufade, another student.
However, some polytechnic students like
Mr. Ugochukwu Nwaogbo of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, did not feel the
brunt of the ASUP strike.
He said, “My school was not involved in
the ASUP national strike because it pulled out from the union’s national
body before the commencement of the strike. Their own internal strike
started about a week now over the payment of their salaries. But I’m
optimistic it would be called off soon. My friends in other polytechnics
affected by the ASUP strike are happy the action has been finally
suspended.”
It was the same song of relief at the
Federal College of Education, Akoka, Lagos, where students expressed
their delight at the suspension of the COEASU strike, especially those
that are in their first year.
A student of the Department of Integrated
Science, Mr. Anthony Gemadu, said he had already started processing his
admission into the National Open University of Nigeria when he heard
the news that the strike had been suspended.
“Now that the COEASU strike has been
suspended, I will continue my studies here at FCE and drop NOUN. But the
Federal Government should find the best solution to these strikes. The
FG should meet the demands of our lecturers fully for the good of our
education,” he told our correspondent.
“I don’t want to waste any more time at
home, because I spent two years at home before I gained admission into
the polytechnic,” said another year one student, Mr. Emmanuel Tosin, who
said he spent most of his time playing the viola and going to choir
practices in church.
“Staying at home for this long has not
been easy. Our lecturers should just do what they need to do and reach a
concrete agreement with the government, let them come back to work, we
are really missing them,” said another year three student, Mr. Peter
Abbey.
Abbey and his fellow students won’t have too wait for too long.
“Following the minister’s intervention,
COEASU strike was suspended for three months with effect from Monday,
July 21,” the General Secretary, COEASU, Akoka chapter, Mr. Oje
Ebenezer, told our correspondent.
In the same vein, a lecturer in the
department of statistics and chairman, ASUP, Yabatech chapter, Mr.
Adeyemi Aromolaran, told our correspondent that academic activity would
begin soon.
“I am yet to see the school calender, but
I’m aware that the academic board met on Thursday; and the college
management is making efforts to ensure that the school resumes for
academic activities,” he said.
For students of polytechnics and colleges of education, one thing is clear, they cannot wait to go back to the classrooms.
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