THE GAINS AND THE LOSSES TO COME

( This is an unbiased piece with NO political
undertone, so PLEASE read dispassionately,
Thanks.)
It is no longer news that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been on strike for almost four months now. I have done an empirical analysis of what Nigerian students as well as lecturers will gain and lose as a result of the current struggle. Read,digest and see if we need to support them any longer or not.

GAIN OF LECTURERS
1. Increased allowances for project
supervision, call duty, extra hours worked,hazards, etc.
2. Payment of salaries and entitlements for the several months in which they didn’t work!
3. Those schools that did not partake in the struggle e.g UNILORIN and RSUST will also benefit from the infrastructure funds and the earned allowances (needless to say UNILORIN almost began sharing the almost one (1) billion they got for earned allowances last week)


NEGATIVE EFFECT OF THE STRIKE ON LECTURERS
1. Delay in obtaining Masters and PhD’s for those still doing their postgraduate studies.
2. I cant fathom out any. Please, help me if you have been able to think of any other one.

GAINS OF THE STRUGGLE FOR STUDENTS
1. The funds released for infrastructure will be used to meet the immediate needs of our schools. Some will use the funds to construct more hostels, some will use it to equip libraries, provide internet connectivity,build laboratories and furnish them,amongst others. These are projects that will aid learning and ultimately benefit students.
2. Those that will later join the academia and become Professors among us will also have the benefit of retiring at 70 years.
3. Those that will join the academia among us will also enjoy the special allowances that the current struggle will benefit lecturers in the years to come.

NEGATIVE EFFECT OF THIS STRUGGLE FOR STUDENTS.
1. BATTERED ACADEMIC CALENDAR
Our Schools have lost a semester which
cannot be made up for. Most schools were either in their second semester of the 2012/2013 session or were rounding up their first semester exams when the strike began.
This will result in an abridged semester and most schools will finish their 2012/2013 session in 2014.
What this implies is that those that wrote the 2013 UTME and will be offered admission (most schools have not released their admission list) might not resume until probably March next year (when another UTME will be on the way)
This will inadvertently result in late
resumption of the 2013/2014 academic
session which is likely to finish early 2015 (provided ASUU does not embark on another strike action before then). Academic calendar is thus in tatters!

2. DELAY IN THE RELEASE OF ADMISSION LIST.
It is pertinent to note that a lot of
prospective University students do not know their fate regarding admission as a result of the strike action.

3. LAW STUDENTS CANNOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL TILL NEXT YEAR OCTOBER.
2012/2013 Final year Law students must be cursing down their throats as the strike has barred them from progressing to the Law school this year. When the dust of this strike settles, they will have to wait till next year October before they can go to the Law school. This is not the only problem because Law graduate of next year 2014 might not be able to go to the Law school till 2015. One year wasted!.
One might say two (2) sets will be merged but those in the know-how will tell you that the Law school has a quota for each school.
Are we seeing the imminent crises?

4. FIERCE COMPETITION FOR 2014 NYSC BATCH ‘B’.
As a result of this strike action, most public Universities (except probably UNILORIN)cannot present Students for November 2013,BATCH ‘C’ service year and with the look of things, public Universities might not be able to meet up with February 2014 BATCH ‘A’ Service year thus resulting in a fierce competition by students to be mobilised for service next year June BATCH ‘B’. What this means is that some students who were supposed to go for service in 2013 will be deferred to November, 2014 and some till February 2015. Are you calculating the time wasted?

5. SOME PROJECT STUDENTS MIGHT HAVE TO START ALL OVER
2012/2013 Final year students of most
schools who were working on their projects (Science-related) when the strike action began might have to start again because the results obtained then might not be tenable again. This results in waste of scarce resources, time and energy.
Having considered the gains and pains of the current struggle, Nigerian Students can now decide if they wish to continue supporting ASUU or reconsider their support. We can decide if the gain of the struggle outweighs the sacrifice we are paying or otherwise.
If strikes could rescue the Nigerian
Education system, then our Institutions
should by now be one of the best in the
world. If ASUU has been on strike for 30
months in the past 10 years and we are still where we are today, then it means No weapon of strike fashioned against the Pharoahs in Abuja can work.

Government has made concessions, we will only be deceiving ourselves if we think Jonathan will implement every bit of that agreement. Its not realistic!..let us be factual and move forward. When ASUU started this struggle, they had popular support not just because it was a Tradition for them to garner sympathy of Nigerians but because we felt it was an aberration for them to still be on an agreement that Government signed in 2009 after an almost four months strike action. But if after a Hundred days of protests, demonstration, rallies and negotiations, we are still at this stage, then it doesnt look like its going to get better. The Truth is ASUU is already losing public sympathy because the collateral effect of their strike is so harsh on students.

Remember, in an industrial dispute, you dont win 100%, you win some and concede some ( as corroborated by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, Archbishop Kaigama, Tolu Ogunlesi and a host of others).
In my own Opinion, the strike doesnt makes sense any longer and ASUU should just call it off to avoid being termed 'stubborn fellows' in the face of the Nigerian Public.

Compiled by ABIOLA SOLANKE
Department of Veterinary Medicine
Federal University of Agriculture,Abeokuta.

nice one

i knw this wont make FP but u made complete sense ;Di knw this wont make FP but u made complete sense

What is d essence of calling off d strike if d aim for which d strike was embarked on is not met? Make una de reason jare. If we can ve d strike for 4months, I say ASUU shud hold on for 1yr until d FG gets off their high horse and start taking ASUU seriously

Oko_AGB: What is d essence of calling off d strike if d aim for which d strike was embarked on is not met? Make una de reason jare. If we can ve d strike for 4months, I say ASUU shud hold on for 1yr until d FG gets off their high horse and start taking ASUU seriously

atleast fg has started the implementation process. Let ASUU gve them benefit of doubt and and call off ds strike we are really tired of staying at home.

Nice one OP.....indeed the present actions of ASUU have consequences on us the student,although I find it wierd that some students are still in support of ASUU.

This strike will not disrupt academic calender significantly.

The scenerio that will play out next year is that exams will be taken after 2 months or a month and half lectures.

This way, the gap will be closed. Fees cannot be collected untill after each session.

University authorities will not want to loss any fees.

xtianh:

atleast fg has started the implementation process. Let ASUU gve them benefit of doubt and and call off ds strike we are really tired of staying at home.

Story. If they (FG) had been honest in d past, ASUU wouldn't be on strike now. There is no trusting dem anymore.

xtianh:

atleast fg has started the implementation process. Let ASUU gve them benefit of doubt and and call off ds strike we are really tired of staying at home.

From ASUU
CALLING OFF THE STRIKE CAN BE A STEP
FORWARD, BUT THAT IS DEFINATELY TWO
STEPS BACKWARD....
Hence our dear students If there is no
struggle, there is no strength in other words
no progress.” WE MUST KEEP ON THE
STRUGGLE # TOGETHER

On my knees prayin dat after readin dis post wit my closed eyes,when i open them the strike would have been called off. Like this post if you believe.

Ok.

I think with the way dis strike of a thing is goin, it is now time for students to think of schooling in private universities and state universities..

Ok thought u asked we should write an essay.



Good points though.

Privatise all public universities.

That is the only tenable solution.

How is it that none of the public universities we have are self sustaining?

nice one

Op you forgot to mention extra house rent expenses; most final year students rents should expire by the end of this year which should tally with the academic calendar all things being equal ,so if the strike isn't called off,they would have to pay an extra amount for the period of extra time spent.

ASUU y

Nice and great review

other nagative things include

1 price of garri has increased
because of the increase in the number of student at home
the price of garri has increased

2 end time thing is on the rise
its no longer news as seen on the news papers that prostitution is on the rise

on the positive side

my sisters are at home and its been a cooking feast.seriously av gained more weight.

Nice evaluation.d gud side of it for the studntst is dat dey wil have enough money to spend when sch resumes cos they must have workd during d strike.eg d winner of mtn project fame

ASUU strike don make me fat well well ooo

Oko_AGB: What is d essence of calling off d strike if d aim for which d strike was embarked on is not met? Make una de reason jare. If we can ve d strike for 4months, I say ASUU shud hold on for 1yr until d FG gets off their high horse and start taking ASUU seriously

if U were one of the prophets of God or a religious being : I would have sent that curse back to U, but because U ar mere person........ My comment My reserve.

Student suffers most, because the lecturers will get what they want. What does the student get in return?

No Pain, No gain.jst that I was caught in d crossfire.

God save our EDUCATION.

Calling on ASUU 2 end d strike wil mean ntn bt anoda strike by 2015 nd 2017 coz dis 9ja govt wil neva kip 2 dia promises.

Am not supporting ASSU,its we the students that will lose,if govt pay then this money how are we garrantied that they ASSU will use the money to do wat it was meant for? Govt hav given them 130bn,and said the rest will b in 2014 buget so why can't they call it off?. They compare themselves with senators that will stay in the office for only 4yrs,while they themselfs (assu) stay longer than that,tell me wat a Man of 70yrs will b able to teach apart from to give u handout and tell u to go to the internate and do research. I DONT SUPPORT ASSU!

if I hear say my school use the money do better thing.

Woteva