FG, ASUU Have Done Well

It was cheering news last December, when the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) suspended the strike it embarked upon for over 8 months.
Their grievances ranging from Federal Government’s non-implementation of 2009 agreement which bothers on issues of earned allowances, payment system and revitalisation of the universities.
At the end of the day, no victor, no vanquished. Both ASUU and FG shifted grounds and came to an agreement which led to the call off of the strike that almost took one academic session.
Although the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the number of months University teachers and students spent at home.
Late last year, the Federal Government had announced the closure of all schools on the 18th of December 2020 and that schools’ resumption at every level should be on the 18th of January, 2021. Some states who were proactive had already resumed earlier than that date. While other states, including their universities have reopened, a lot more after deliberations with their university Senate have decided to resume  later this month and early February.
While ASUU and their universities authorities were taking their time to review their academic calendars, last week, issue  of how to cope with COVID-19 pandemic while at work came up by ASUU.
Yes every normal person will think of that especially with the crowd in our universities. A situation where you have a lecture hall of about 200 to 300 students.
This should not be another subject to be discussed that will make teachers and students to go home again. COVID-19 was there while ASUU and FG were deliberating on the issues of 2009 agreement. Issue of how to cope with the disease should have come up and be trashed while others were being handled.
While ASUU was on strike, private universities had academic activities going on, although some of them have been operating online. Those who had physical lecture have been coping like the universities that never joined the industrial action.
Even public primary and secondary schools in Rivers State here, had been running staggered programmes since resumption. While some and their teachers come in the morning session, others engage in afternoon session according to government’s directive.
If pupils at Kindergarten, secondary classes and their teachers could cope with all the measures put in place, university teachers and their undergraduates can equally cope.
Every university has a Health Bay, the staff and relevant faculties and departments on campus should set up those required equipment and materials beginning from the university gates.  Use of face masks made compulsory and ensure that every building -classrooms, hostels, cafeteria, banks, name them, have their own equipment where members of the university community can wash hands regularly.
In fact, we are looking upto our universities in search of prevention and cure for this deadly disease. Departments like bio/chem, medical laboratory science, college of medicine and the likes  can produce hand sanitizers which can be distributed to the university community for use. At least, let’s practise non-pharmaceutical measures before relevant authorities come up with the vaccines.
Universities where we have Home Economics Departments should get fabrics, construct and sew various shapes of face masks and should be sold at lower rates to generate funds in campus.
Members of ASUU can also provide for their members because many labour unions provided for their members.
Some of the tertiary institutions that never joined the ASUU strike were able to cope with the COVID-19 protocols.
Sometime in August last year, Basic 9 and Senior Secondary School (SSS3) students and their tutors were allowed to sit for their BECE and SSCE  complying with the protocols.
In September and October last year, primary and secondary schools nationwide reopened and completed 3rd term of 2019/2020 academic session, started and concluded 1st term of 2020/2021 academic year observing all COVID-19 protocols.
Universities should ensure that all necessary COVID-19 protocols and orders are strictly adhered to.  Adequate precautions should be maintained so that the lives of the students and lecturers will be saved.
Since there were already strategies and protocols as well as orders in place in primary and secondary schools since last year when ASUU was on strike, let ASUU and their universities resume and all those protocols and orders be observed with utmost strictness.
Staggered resumption can also be practised in the universities as is practised in the primary and secondary schools.
A lot of time has been spent on argument of 2009 agreement while private universities have been running their academic calendars without stress.
It is so worisome to note that 2019/2020 academic session has suffered setback, 2020/2021 admission is still being withheld. What is the hope of Nigerian public universities? Will these incessant strike actions help our undergraduates?
It is more than 10 years now this issue of 2009 agreement between FG and ASUU began. Almost every year, it comes up as if it has never been tackled before. It is high time the two parties had concluded because it is not helping our university system.
Every year, while their counterparts in private schools are moving on, undergraduates in public universities are sitting at home while parents have already paid school fees. The of-campus students who paid rent last year have lost that to their landlords. Most parents with the harsh economy cannot send their wards to private universities. Of course, it is the right of the children to acquire education.
It is also annoying that a budget made for a child for a course of study for four to five years will run for six or seven years while other children are waiting.
I call on ASUU to accept whatever the FG has offered so as to go back to work. It can also be reviewed from time to time if they are not satisfied. Rome, they say was not built in a day.
Apart from the fund ASUU is asking from the FG, universities can also make up from internally generated revenue, after all University education is not free. Money is raised from school fees annually so university authorities should ensure proper use so that some of the issues they are asking for can be settled.
While we commend FG for paying withheld salaries of some of them, we equally urge the government to clear the backlog of those remaining so that ASUU can concentrate on academic matters.