- We’ll take action soon if govt fails to rectify situation – ASUU
The ideal components of the teaching profession in Nigeria include teaching, researching, training and some benefits, which will aid in the production of competent graduates, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has said.
However, this is not so. Investigations by our correspondents have revealed the poor treatment that has continued to be meted out to those in the teaching profession in the nation’s educational institutions.
Sources in different schools have confirmed that the education system is bedeviled with the shortage of everything, causing the work overload which has, in turn, resulted in the production of poorly trained graduates.
ASUU has continually been lamenting the poor treatment being given by both the state and the Federal governments to those engaged in the teaching profession.
According to the union, the major reason for the production of incompetent graduates by the various educational institutions has not been tackled and routed by the government.
Rather, it said the problem had been aggravated. “Those in the profession no longer give out their best because they have been stressed,” ASUU argued.
When you have shortage of human resources, there will be pressure on those on ground. The shortage has led to excess work load on the staff, it has created pressures, they hardly have time
The union claimed that the poor treatment given to those in the teaching profession had been put on the negotiation table, but the government had refused to address it.
A Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Kogi State University, Rev. Damian Amana, contended that lecturers were not being paid commensurate remuneration and so had been constrained to sometimes find alternative sources of income, instead of depending on their salary from the classroom alone.
Amana said, “The issue is the welfare of lecturers, we are not being paid. We need other means. Kogi State University just had a recent employment and there has been an upshot of lecturers. We have over 28 lecturers in a department.
“When the lecturers are not well treated, will the students be taught well? What product do we get?”
Another lecturer at the Department of Psychology, University of Lagos, Prof. Oni Bamikole, lamented the work overload caused by the vacancies left behind by their former colleagues, who had gone in search of greener pastures elsewhere and outside the country.
“This issue is usually from the government. They need to approve new staff. When lecturers finish their Phds, they jump out to look for greener pastures, leaving the seats vacant. There is work overload, inefficiency, here and there, “ he said.
Similarly, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Mr. Erinoso Oluwasola, disclosed that both teaching and non-teaching staff were being overworked.
He said, “This issue is everywhere and it is not only the teaching staff, the non-teaching staff are not enough. In LASPOTECH, the Lagos State Government just approved 87 lecturers for us last year and they are not even enough.
“A job meant for five people is being done by just one person. This is the major issue, but we are trying to meet the demands of the students,” he complained.
In the same vein, the Public Relations Officer of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju, said that the institution was not exempted from the parlous situation.
“There are shortages of everything; OAU is not an exemption. We have shortage of manpower; as far as OAU is concerned the retirees are leaving, but we are trying to meet the demands of the students,” he said.
ASUU National President, Prof. Abiodun Ogunyemi, told our correspondent that the various issues had been put on the negotiation table, but the Federal Government had yet to respond to any of the union’s demands in this regard.
Ogunyemi said, “The union is still negotiating with the Federal Government. It is one of the issues that have been raised at the negotiation table, but unfortunately, the government has not deemed it fit to listen to our perspective on the issue of working conditions, which, of course, include the provision of facilities.
“The negotiation has broken down and the Federal Government came up with some proposals that are not acceptable to the union. They wrote to us two weeks ago that they would soon call on us,” he revealed.
The ASUU national president said that the Federal government had insisted that the union should accept the proposal giving students loans, instead of listening to the appeal of saving those that teach the students.
“They insisted that unless the union agrees to their proposal on education bank as the source of funding education in Nigeria. The union will be glad if the process is being recollected and the shortage of staff will be known. But if this issue still continues, the members of the union will consult themselves for their next action,” Ogunyemi said.
The ASUU president further explained the effect of the situation on the academic system, especially on the tertiary institutions.
He said, “When you have shortage of human resources, there will be pressure on those on ground. The shortage has led to excess work load on the staff, it has created pressures, they hardly have time to go on their annual leave and in the process, it affects them beyond reasonable limit. They can’t deliver to the best of their ability. It affects performance. When you are supposed to handle two courses and you are handling six. When you are supposed to advise 50 students and you are handling 500, you cannot be at your
best.
“When you are supposed to divide your time, some for teaching, research and community services but you are using everything on teaching, you will not be effective. It has affected productivity, the work of the lecturer is on a tripod — teaching, research and
service,” he
explained.
According to him, the profession has been limited to teaching alone and the funds needed for research purposes and salary likewise are limited.
Ogunyemi added, “It appears that work has been reduced to teaching only; that is why we have less research. Apart from that, the funding for procurement of facilities for teaching are not there. We see everything as interwoven. It is affecting the quality of their services and the quality of their
products.
“This is why Nigerian graduates are unemployable; people are not getting to the root of the matter. Students will just go and come back as the same, with the way lecturers are treated. We have been crying very loud about the situation in our campuses and it seems nobody
cares.”
