Perennial strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has been a major concern for many Nigerians like Professor Akpan Ekpo, former vice chancellor of the University of Uyo. Not only because of the negative impact it has on quality of education in the country but strike also exposes students to other nefarious activities while they idle about at home. This is why Professor Ekpo has suggested that government must honour agreements reached with ASUU to avoid another round of strike by university lecturers.

According to him, the incessant strikes by the ASUU, can only be stopped when the government begins to honour signed agreements meant to improve the quality of education in the country.

Ekpo stressed that most of the agreements made between the government and ASUU were meant to provide adequate facilities for teaching and research to enable our universities meet global standards.

He told Realnews in an exclusive interview that, “No country develops faster than its manpower building institutions. You kill tertiary institutions, you kill the economy. Take for example, the recent strike which was unnecessary if government had honoured the agreement signed in 2009.”

Ekpo, also the former director general of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, WAIFEM, also expressed concern about the  quality of education in the country.

When asked if the low standard of education is a reflection of regular ASUU strike, Ekpo replied, “The low standard of education is a major concern but the strikes by ASUU is not the factor. University education is a derived demand. It is crucial that the primary and secondary levels of education in the country be re-examined.  In each year the managers of the education system would lower the JAMB score – a requirement for entry in the university. As vice-chancellor, I introduced the post-jamb examination in the country in 2004 trying to raise the standard requirements for entry into the University of Uyo.

“It became nationwide the following year. It has since been abolished for no good reason than to admit half-baked candidates into the university. In addition, must everyone obtain a university education? In most developed countries which we are trying to emulate, for example, the USA only about 30 percent of its population have university degrees. In fact, most post-graduate programmes are populated by foreign students.”

“In my view, we are doing cut and join in the educational system. It is time to sit down and take a serious look at the education system at all levels and proffer lasting

 solutions,” he added.

Realnews reports that data analysis by Premium Times between 2018 and 2020 showed that Nigerian lecturers had gone on strike 15 times since 1999. The entire period they embarked on such strike spanned about 50 months.

This represents about one-fifth, or 20 per cent of the number of years since the dawn of democracy in Nigeria in 1999.

This means that for every five years since 1999, Nigerian universities spent one on strike.

During the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, academic workers downed tools for a cumulative period of about 18 months, approximately 19 per cent of his eight-year reign.