Reasons For Asuu Strike In Nigeria

Reasons For Asuu Strike In Nigeria

Nigeria has witnessed several regimes in terms of political administrations. These administrations have actively intervened in labor-management relations through the use of incomes policies and labor decrees in the attempt to control the state of industrial relations. Despite governments’ intervention in labor management relations, unions are still very much autonomous. Several studies have emerged in the last few decades on the issue of strike and wage negotiation. These studies shows that labor disputes and union militancy are often perceived to have political overtones, even though the overwhelming majority of the strikes are in the private sector due to collective negotiations in which economic grievances are the underlying factors (Cohen, 1974, Otobo, 1983). Other studies of strikes in Nigeria (Sonubi, 1973, Otobo 1984, and Ananaba 1967) showed that the Nigerian government has been and continues to be an active participant in wage determination and price movement. Since wage and price variables are important explanatory variables in any strike model.

However, the concern of this paper is not strike and wage determination but rather the influence of strike on the choice of household demand for higher education thus this paper review works around demand for higher education. Studies on the demand for higher education have proliferated since the Campbell and Siegel (1967) study. This work is generally considered to be the first on this topic, their work focuses mainly on the relationship between price and enrolment in higher education and they found out among others that the fluctuations in ratio which have taken place are associated with fluctuation in disposable income per family and constitute an index of function as deflated by the consumer price index.

Menon,(1997), considered the demand for higher education in Cyprus using a survey conducted among the Cyprist secondary school students in final year. The study found out that the extra ordinary increase in the demand for higher education in Cyprus during post independence, can be partly attributed to the influence of economic, societal, and institutional forces and in particular the psychological motivation with regards to higher education. Albert (2000), used human capital theory (discrete choice model) to analyze the demand for higher education in Spain. The study focused on two potential influences: family characteristics and labor market signal and found out first that family background and parents’ educational attainment explain the higher education demand, especially the mother mothers’ educational attainment which is even more determinant than the fathers’. Secondly, the labor market signals in Spain have an influence on the demand for higher education as a signal of both opportunity cost of funding a job for not going to a university and the employment expectation for each relevant education level.

The persistent and unabated agitations for parity of Polytechnic and University graduates as averred to by the demands of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) in its  industrial action against the Federal Government, has remained a cancerous wound that will take many years to heal.  It is on this note that the current face-off between ASUP and Federal Government appears to be a very hard-nut to crack, given the arduous nature of this demand for B.SC and HND holders to be accorded equal opportunity and recognition. Be that as it may, the ongoing industrial impasse can best be understood and appreciated, if we take a dispassionate look at the philosophies that informed the establishment of Polytechnic education in the country.

According to the Federal Polytechnic Act, subsection (1), the functions of each Polytechnic shall be  (a) to provide full-time or part-time courses of instruction and training (I) in Technology, Applied science, Commerce and Management; and in such other fields of applied learning relevant to the needs of the development of Nigeria in the area of industrial and agricultural production and distribution and for research in the development and adaptation of techniques as the Council may from time to time, determine.

Given the foregoing, one can deduce that the mandate of polytechnic education limits them to offer courses in engineering and applied sciences, basically.  For instance, the UK tradition of polytechnic education (UK being Nigeria’s former colonial master), which we inherited in Nigeria, intended for polytechnics to be no more than intermediate technical and vocational schools to train technologists with a view to providing middle level manpower needed to drive industrial growth and development.

Reasons For Asuu Strike In Nigeria

Lecturers in Nigeria’s public polytechnics have been on a nationwide strike since October 4, 2013

Despite meetings held between the lecturers and the federal government, the contentious issues still remain unresolved with the lecturers vowing to continue their strike until their demands are met.

At the root of the strike is an agreement ASUP had with the federal government in 2001.

The 2001 Federal Government of Nigeria/Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic, ASUP agreement was reviewed in 2009 with an agreement that it should be re-negotiated after three years.

The failure of government to call for a re-negotiation in 2012 as agreed and the accumulated challenges confronting the polytechnics necessitated the union to identify critical areas of need in the schools, the ASUP National Publicity Secretary, Clement Chairman, told PREMIUM TIMES.

The critical areas were presented as a list of 13 demands by ASUP to the federal government in 2012.

These, according to the academic union’s spokesperson, include:

1.     The need for a re-constitution of the Governing Councils of Federal Polytechnics which were dissolved in 2010.

2.     The migration of the lower cadres on the CONTISS 15 salary scale. Government had approved the migration in 2009 and actually began its implementation for the senior cadres with strong assurances that those of the lower cadres would follow without delay.

3.     The release of the White Paper on the Visitations to Federal Polytechnics.

4.     The need for the commencement of the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Polytechnics.

5.     The worrisome state of state-owned polytechnics in the country. The argument to government here is based on the rot and comatose state of most state polytechnics.

6.     The continued appointment of unqualified persons as Rectors and Provosts of Polytechnics, Monotechnics and Colleges of Technologies by some state governments.

7.     The refusal of most State governments to implement the approved salary packages (CONPCASS) for their Polytechnics, Monotechnics and Colleges of Technologies and the 65-year retirement age even though both states and federal polytechnics are regulated by the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, and they operate the same scheme of service.

8.     The insistence of the office of the Accountant General of the Federation to include Federal Polytechnics in the IPPIS module as against the Union’s protestations while other arms of the tertiary education sub-sector are allowed to maintain the status quo.

9.     The dichotomy between university and polytechnic graduates in job placements and career progression. The argument in this regard is anchored on the fact that graduates from these sectors should be measured on the strength of their competence on job delivery and not the environment that produces them.

10.              The continued recognition of the NBTE as the regulatory body of Nigerian Polytechnics as against the union’s repeated call for the establishment of a National Polytechnics Commission, NPC. The strength of the argument here is relevant as the universities and colleges of education are regulated by the National Universities Commission, NUC, and the National Commission for Colleges of Education, NCCE, respectively;

11.              The snail speed pace of the review of the Federal Polytechnics Act at the National Assembly.

12.              The reluctance of the Office of the Head of Service to approve the Revised Scheme of Service for Polytechnics.

13.              The non-commencement of the re-negotiation of the FGN/ASUP agreement as contained in the signed agreement. The content of these demands were tabled before the government as early as February, 2012.

In December 2012, as a result of government’s failure to address any of the demands, ASUP issued the government a 30-day ultimatum, which expired on January 31, 2013. However, although ASUP had reasons to embark on strike in view of government’s repeated failure to address its demands, it opted to give government more time to respond.

The response never came and that compelled the union to issue another 21-day ultimatum on March 25, 2013 which expired on April 22, 2013 and was followed by the declaration of a one-week warning strike which dovetailed into an indefinite strike beginning Monday, April, 29, 2013.

The issues, as contained in the union’s demands, are directed towards the proper strengthening and development of polytechnic education in Nigeria.

ASUP initiated series of meeting and indeed met several times with government since August 17, 2013 to ensure that industrial peace was maintained in the polytechnics.

“Each session of such meeting was unfortunately characterized by repeated promises and lack of commitment from Government,” Mr. Chairman said.

It was only when the government did not resolve the issues that the union embarked on another indefinite strike from October 4, 2013.

As a result of the negotiations, out of the 13 demands, the Federal government and ASUP agreed to work on four.

These were: the need for constitution of the Governing Councils of Federal Polytechnics, the migration of the lower cadres on the CONTISS 15 salary scale, the release of the White Paper on the Visitations to Federal Polytechnics, and the need for the commencement of the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Polytechnics.

However, of the four, only the need for constitution of the Governing Councils of Federal Polytechnics has been fully addressed by the federal government.

The strike is now in its fifth month with ASUP insisting it would not resume until its demands are met.