ASUU Strike: VCs Of Private Universities Sympathises With Affected Students

Vice-Chancellors of private universities have expressed concern and sympathy for students affected by the protracted strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), noting that there was need to end the three-month-old impasse between the Federal Government and the striking lecturers.

Expressing their discomfort, the VCs of Bells University of Technology (BELLSTECH), Prof. Isaac Adeyemi; Redeemer’s University, Prof. Zachariah Adeyewa; Covenant University, Prof. Charles Ayo; and Caleb University, Professor Ayodeji Olukoju, noted that Nigeria’s educational system needs strategic planning and restructuring to regain its lost glory. “some of my children are also affected by the strike and have been pleading with me to send them to private varsities because they are tired of staying at home. In fact, I want to appreciate parents who are sending their children to private varsities because they are making a lot of sacrifices. I would have loved all my children to attend private varsities but I can’t afford the tuition fees.

“We are not happy that some of our children are becoming grand-parents at home because of the ongoing imbroglio between government and ASUU. The truth is that government and the citizens are not totally committed as the average parent will want to send his wards to smaller African countries to acquire education, where they may be lost to foreign cultures,” VC, Redeemer’s University, Prof. Adeyewa said.

Also lamenting the unending industrial action by unions in the country’s public tertiary institutions, BELLSTECH VC, Adeyemi, said parties going into an agreement, especially between government and staff unions should put up an implementation strategy that must be acknowledged by the parties.

“This way, if there are changes in the agreement due to the evolving realities of life, both parties must be carried along and be willing to re-negotiate. We need to have a holistic view of the project called Nigeria and agreement should be based on current realities of life because no situation is static. But I insist that there must be constant interaction and mutual agreement between both parties.

“If government says this is what she can afford now, the next thing is to agree on an implementation strategy for the balance. However, we shouldn’t wish away the fact that those in government are also Nigerians and the good of our education system is their concern. It takes a lot to fund education and these funds can’t be reared overnight, making strategic planning necessary to restructure our education system.

In a similar vein, the VC, Covenant University, Prof. Ayo reiterated the need for a state of emergency to be declared in the education sector.

“It’s unfortunate that public varsities have been shut-down for over two months, especially at a time when access to and quality of education in the country are low. ASUU should not be totally blamed for standing their grounds, because government needs to show more commitment to education.

“The pertinent question we should ask is- are we able to separate adequate funding of education and quality because with our paltry percentage of annual budgetary allocation less than 10 per cent compared to countries like Ghana, South-Africa, our standards will continue to dwindle. This calls for the need for a state of emergency in the nation’s educational system.”

Also speaking, VC, Caleb University, Professor Olukoju, charged government to prioritize funding of education, which is a critical sector of the economy.

“Funding of education is the core issue here but government isn’t keeping an agreement that wasn’t signed under duress. This whole situation is like when someone buys goods on credit and can’t pay on the date he promised to pay.

“I will suggest that government focuses on funding education rather than spending frivolously of things that don’t contribute to the economy as education.