The wasting generation

 Early this March, the House of Representatives rejected a bill by one of its members seeking to bar public officials from sending their children or wards to schools abroad unless under exceptional terms. It was a repeated time the legislature turned down the proposal by Sergius Ogun (PDP, Edo), who had unsuccessfully sponsored a similar bill in the eight National Assembly. The same lawmaker had in February sponsored another bill prescribing a seven-year jail term or N500million fine, or both, for public officers who spend taxpayers’ money on foreign medicals. That health bill scaled through to second reading by the ninth House, unlike in the eight NASS where it was roundly rebuffed.

The education bill by Ogun that was rejected proposed that a public officer could only send his/her children or wards to foreign schools after obtaining specific approval from the Education Minister, and after the officer concerned had provided documentary evidence of capacity to pay the fees without recourse of any kind to public funds. Section 4 of the bill stipulated that “a public officer shall not send his ward or children overseas for studies without declaration of interest, subject to approval.” Section 6 outlined the steps for securing approval as follows: “A public officer declaring interest in sending his ward or child abroad for further studies shall submit the following documents for consideration: (a) A complete form stating the name and address of the public officer, the name and age of the child or ward, his level of education, name of intended school abroad, duration of study, and number of children studying abroad; (b) Letter of appointment; (c) Bank statement of account; (d) Salary pay slip; (e) Declaration of assets form; and (f) Sworn affidavit stating that he is financially capable of paying the way. Section 7 of the bill said the minister would conduct an investigation to verify the authenticity of the documents submitted, while Section 9 stipulated N1million fine or three-year jail term for any breach of the law.

Leading the argument for the bill, Ogun said there was a connection between decaying infrastructure in public schools and the hunger among Nigerian elite for foreign education, and that the proposed bill had capacity to address the challenge of resource allocation to the sector. “The trouble is that most of those who patronise private-owned educational institutions or those who travel abroad to study are children and wards of Nigerian public officers. These are the officers who should take responsibility for building our public institutions,” he contended, bemoaning the outflow of scarce foreign exchange used in financing  the craving. The representative noted that a drastic law was needed to redress the challenges facing public education in Nigeria. Other members of the House counter-argued that the proposed bill violated 1999 Constitution-guaranteed fundamental right of free movement. While some contended that the Code of Conduct law was sufficient to determine whether a public officer had the means to send his/her wards abroad for schooling, others said many officials had their children enrolled in foreign institutions before being elected or appointed into public office and could not be compelled by virtue of their position to withdraw those wards. When put to vote whether the proposed legislation should be allowed for a second reading, House members overwhelmingly rejected it.

“ASUU strike: there is a chilling numbness on both sides of the dispute to its toll”

The defeat of Ogun’s radical bill resonated against the backdrop of ongoing shutdown of the public university system resulting from a ‘warning’ strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that was last week rolled over for another eight weeks. The strike, which kicked off 14th February for four weeks in the first instance, has to do with the lingering dispute between varsity teachers and government over implementation of their 2009 pact that has been severally renegotiated, with fresh implementation terms agreed upon in 2000 to end a nine-month-long strike undertaken that year by ASUU. The teachers union claims government is not matching its word with action regarding expected release of revitalisation fund to universities, payment of earned academic allowances to lecturers, and deployment of the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) payroll software in place of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) that the teachers rejected. Government counters, however, that it has done its level best to meet the teachers’ demands. Buck-passing rules, and a break in the impasse lurks out of sight. While the dispute lasts, universities whose teachers are ‘ASUUfied’ – and that is talking about nearly all public varsities – are shuttered and students wasting away in idle uncertainty. Recent reports cited opinion polling showing that many of them are deeply frustrated and losing interest altogether in academic pursuits. Besides, observable trends indicate extensive involvement of young ones suspected to be ASUU strike idlers in societal ills and festering moral decadence. In short, all pointers are that the death of societal morality is here upon us.

Meanwhile, there is a chilling numbness on both sides of the dispute to its toll. In announcing the strike’s extension last week, ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke said the move was intended to give government more time to act, considering it “had failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA) within the four-week roll-over strike period.” According to him, the national executive council of the staff union was “disappointed that government did not treat the matters involved with utmost urgency as they deserved during the four-week period as expected of a reasonable, responsive, and well-meaning administration.” He added in a statement: “NEC viewed government’s response, so far, as a continuation of the unconscionable, mindless and nonchalant attitude of the Nigerian ruling elite towards the proven path of national development, which is education.” In what could be a dark hint at indefinite rollover of the strike, he said the fresh eight-week period was “to give government more time to address all the issues in concrete terms so that our students will resume as soon as possible.”

For its part, government postured cold indifference to pressure tactics by ASUU. Unlike at previous times when it rallied urgent measures of engagement with the teachers union, it has maintained insularity over the latest action, with its public reaction following the strike rollover being by Minister of State for Education Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba who merely insisted that government had met all demands by the union. “ASUU announced and we met, and everything that they have demanded we have done all of them, including the earned allowances and the revitalisation fund. They choose to extend it for two months, may be,” Nwajiuba said when confronted last week by journalists. His claim rang hollow, however, against the backdrop of a statement by Labour, Employment and Productivity Minister Chris Ngige earlier this March that government lacked the funds to meet its obligations under the pact signed with the teachers union and was prospecting for another renegotiation, which ASUU has rebuffed. Besides, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) announced on 10th March that UTAS had failed integrity tests conducted on it, whereas ASUU declared the claim inconsistent with outcomes of the tests in which its members participated. And there is a video clip making the rounds online, showing Education Minister Adamu Adamu walking out on leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) who visited his office to protest the lingering ASUU strike and demand urgent remedial measures by government.

Let’s be clear: the industrial crisis in the university system is never going to get resolved by either party having its way or the highway. The interest of students that are affected – the wasting generation – matter the most and must be factored in to strike tradeoffs and compromises. ASUU must realise it cannot get all the funds at issue simply by asking, there are determining factors like genuine capacity of the national treasury to meet the bill. But the onus rests more on government to ensure creative resource allocation to the sector, which isn’t the case now obviously because most in the power elite do not have their wards schooling in Nigeria. If the idleness of affected students persists, it isn’t contemporary morality alone that melts down, the future of society is sacrificed.