Why students should give up on public university education in Nigeria

Recently, the Federal Government confirmed the payment of half-salaries to public university lecturers. From October 14, when the strike was called off, till the rest of the month that the government believed they worked for.

This payment came after ASUU’s eight-month strike. Most of the issues they agitated for and went on strike for was not fulfilled nor resolved.

These lecturers resumed for their classes following the industrial court’s injunction and somehow hoping that their backlog of salaries would be paid.

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The Federal Government turned a deaf ear to all these demands and went ahead to enforce no-work-no-pay policy that crippled their salaries.

After this payment, it was reported that Gombe ASUU has threatened to withhold students’ results, and SUU exco are going to meet, as lecturers mull sit-at-home. Other lecturers who do not have this firm disposition would still go to classes to teach.

There is a plethora of questions that have begun to plague my mind since I read about this payment.

How can a lecturer impart knowledge effectively to his students in his current disconcerted disposition? How many of these lecturers are conscientious enough to follow their moral inclination to act justly towards students in marking and grading? What is the fate of many students who are currently learning in various public universities in Nigeria?

These questions trouble me and they should also trouble everyone who is passionate about tertiary education in Nigeria.

It appears to me that lecturers who are tired of the current education system, yet cannot leave for green or greener pasture, will have to endure this seemingly harsh treatment from the government. His endurance, however, also has a ripple effect on the way students learn and pass their courses at school.

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Bearing in mind that a hungry man is an angry man, in some way or the other, the students are at the receiving end and will bear the brunt; and in a large way, this is stealthily killing the future of public university education in Nigeria.

If lecturers are not sufficiently motivated to teach, what will be the quality of knowledge imparted to the students? What will be the quality of graduates produced in the next few years?

There is also an exodus of lecturers from public university education as reported by ASUU Chairman, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke. And, since the Federal Government has not done recruitment of lecturers in many years, other available lecturers might be compelled to teach courses that are far unrelated to their areas of expertise/specialization or these courses would die an untoward death.

Owing to all these aforementioned factors, the quality of graduates churned out in public universities will become increasingly distasteful and alarming in years to come.

Most of these graduates, who are no longer sufficiently trained, cannot compete favourably with their counterparts from private universities where graduates are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

In these prevailing circumstances, what are students expected to do?

First of all, public universities’ students must begin to invest in themselves and acquire skills that will position them for the labour market. Personal development should trump attendance of classes and mindless memorization of concepts and obsolete theories. Since these times are precarious, as most lecturers are no longer looking out for them, students should begin to paddle their own canoe.

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Secondly, it is high time students shifted their gaze from grades to networking and building meaningful connections with students from other universities, especially private universities in Nigeria and those abroad. By doing all this, they can avail themselves of the opportunities of learning with brighter minds.

Lastly, when things are collapsing, and nobody, especially the major powers, is going to fix them, it becomes imperative to pack one’s bags and leave for something good or better. Public universities’ students must start looking for alternatives to acquire quality education elsewhere, especially in a sane or saner environment where there is an enabling environment for them to thrive and achieve their academic and professional goals.

In conclusion, students must begin to redefine the way and what they learn at public universities and arm themselves with requisite skills for the labour market. It is becoming rather sad that public university education can no longer serve as their knights in shining armour, as their saviour. The students’ collective future is now in their own hands.