Education stakeholders call for dialogue to end ASUU strike

Some stakeholders in the education sector have appealed to the Federal Government to dialogue favourably with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to end the incessant strike.

Some of the stakeholders told our reporter on Wednesday in Abuja that there was a need for a functional education system in order for the country’s economy to grow.

Prof. Olugbenga Alabi of the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Abuja, said that the government should discuss with ASUU and settle with them peacefully.

“Government should open up to the union and tell them what it can afford from their demands; there should be agreement between both parties and things will work out fine.

“Once there is dialogue there will always be a way out.

“All these issues are just about good leadership; if both leaderships come together and agree on the issues, the economy will not suffer.’’

Dr James Daniel, Chief Librarian, Baze University, Abuja, said that ASUU needed to be settled once and for all, adding: “this is a recurring decimal that shouldn’t continue.

“Many parents are withdrawing their children and wards from public universities to private universities because there is no strike there.

“Especially when you have girls, by the time you go on strike for two or three years it will affect them as they would have grown to be of marriageable age.

“The Federal Government should put money into the universities so as to unravel the problems that lecturers are agitating for.

“As for me, I think ASUU should continue with their strike until they get their demand,’’ he said.

Dr Steven Oluwaniyi, a parent, called on all Nigerians to work together to take education to the next level.

Oluwaniyi, who works with the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja, said that no parent would be happy seeing the child sitting at home without doing anything because of strike.

He said there was a need for the intervention of all stakeholders to come together and dialogue on ways to end the strike.

“The whole country should work together to make education successful; parents, government and the lecturers have their roles to make education successful.

“No parent will be happy seeing the child sitting at home, waiting for the appropriate time to resume.

“As parents, you want your children to do well and if the school they are attending does not have adequate materials and learning environment, how will they do well?

“Comparatively, if you want to compare Nigeria with other countries, you will realise that they are ready to pay the price for education which we don’t do here.
“Therefore, the government must do the needful to end the strike and provide necessary learning materials and good environment for both students and lecturers.’’

However, he appealed to all stakeholders to see to it that education in the country improved.

On Nov. 5, ASUU declared an indefinite strike to press demands for improved funding of public universities and the payment of accumulated allowances to lecturers.

The Federal and ASUU met on Monday to resolve issues and end the strike but the meeting ended in a deadlock.