Tomiwa Olamiju
The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Thursday, 7th of April, announced at a Zonal meeting in Cross River that, the entire public universities would continue to remain shut down until the right things are done to guarantee quality education for students, as well as workers in different universities.
This statement came as an affirmation to students that ASUU has no intention to end the strike which began on the 14th of February 2022, until the federal government attends to all outstanding issues.
Students, however, have taken to learning some trades that can keep them busy till the strike is called off.
A student of the Federal University of Abeokuta FUNNAB, Akintade Taiwo, 300Level, studying Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, while sharing his innovation, said after the strike was extended from the first phase, he decided to learn photography and will soon venture into technical skills once his laptop arrives.
He said: “After the first extension of the strike, being a Nigerian student with past experiences of the ASUU strike, I knew it was not going to end so soon. So, after I got home, I went to register in a photo studio. I would have loved to face technical skills, but I don’t have a laptop yet. I have always had the zeal to learn photography, but I never had the chance, so I saw this as an opportunity. Also, it serves as a means of not staying idle, because if school education doesn’t work out, I will have this as a side hustle.”
Taiwo said the system has failed students abruptly, adding that the situation could lure idle students into bad things.
Taiwo who also noted that the job of a photographer is full of fun said he couldn’t wait to resume.
He said: “I really can’t wait to return to school, there is a special joy when one bags a certificate at the predicted time, learning of trades should come during holidays and not because of the ASUU strike.”
A student of Ekiti State University, Osaro Gideon, in
400Level, studying Geophysics, said he has begun learning about Air conditioning repairs.
Gideon noted that the Nigerian educational system was bad. He said that he would have considered not returning to school if he was not in his final year.
He said: “The Nigerian educational system is really poor and has proved multiple times that they have no plans for students in the country. If I was a 100-level student, I would have packed my luggage and stayed back at home learning my trade even after the strike.”
Stating the negative impacts of the strike, Gideon said that students now spend seven to eight years for a programme of four years in the university, practically leading to late marriages for some students.
Gideon said he was enjoying the trade learning process and any more extension of the strike would make him a master of the job he was learning.
A federal university undergraduate, Ajayi Gabriel, 300-level, studying Industrial Chemistry in Oye Ekiti, said he was now learning Data analysis due to the strike.
He lamented bitterly about the treatment Nigerian students keep receiving from the government and the government’s nonchalant attitudes towards the plights of the students or the adverse effects of such strikes on the students.
He added: “This is not the first or second strike I’ve experienced since my admission into the university in 2018. It’s always because of the same issue between ASUU and the government. I’ve spent four years studying for three sessions, and if my calculations are right, I will end up spending six years at the university. The government during their manifestos always promises to take the educational sector seriously, but it always turns out to be a lie, and for how long will this continue?”
Gabriel pleaded with the federal government to do all they could to help students return to school as soon as possible.
First Published 2022.
