Last year, university students were away from school for six months, no thanks to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The university teachers downed tools to demand the implementation of an agreement it reached with the Federal Government in 2009 to improve public education.
With the reopening of universities, students are lamenting the effect of the strike on their academic programmes. They said they suffered for a cause they did not know anything about. They want to be compensated for the lost time and the delay they suffered because of the strike.
Reliving their experiences during the action, students said its effect on their career could not be quantified.
Kingsley Amatanweze, 500-Level Metallurgical and Material Engineering student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), said he lost two months out of six months of industrial training because of the strike.
“As a final year student, I should have commenced work on my project. To carry out a befitting project work takes time. Now, the school calendar is being rushed to accommodate the lost time. There is not enough time to attend to academics and conduct research work on our projects. The rush has disorganised our plans to put in efforts to develop good project,” Kingsley said.
Dung Damack, 100-Level Biology and Education student of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) had just paid his rent when the strike started.
“Already, half of the rent has gone because I did not stay in the room. It is like throwing money into a well. I just got a call from a neighbour that the landlord has asked me to leave the house. But I understand the landlord wants me to pay for another year.”
Philips Guda, a 500-Level student of Medicine at the Benue State University (BSU) and national president of the Benue Medical Students Association (BEMSA), described the strike as disaster. He said: “For us at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, who have lost too much time as undergraduates, it was a big disaster. The strike sabotaged our efforts to cover the lost time.”
Richard Nyikwagh, a final year student of Economics at BSU, felt bad because his plan after school was disorganised. He was preparing to graduate next month, but the strike prolonged his graduation to August.
Ekene Ahaneku, 200-Level Optometry and Public Relations Officer of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the Imo State University (IMSU), Owerri, said. “I am not happy because of rent. The strike has jerked up house rent,” he said.
Given the lamentations, some students demand compensation from the government. Since the strike was not initiated by students, Kingsley said, there should be adequate compensation for them to cover the lost time. “Of course, they should pay us compensation,” he said.
Dung Damack also believed students should be compensated. He said: “It would be a good idea if students are compensated. I wish this was possible. But you know the way the system works. To think of compensation is almost like thinking of impossibilities.”
However, some students believe no compensation should be paid by the government because the lecturers went on strike to fight students’ cause.
Sesugh Ande, a Chemistry lecturer at the University of Agriculture in Makurdi, who is currently in the United Kingdom for his doctorate degree, sympathised with the students over the strike but said lecturers suffered more during the action.
He did not believe students should be compensated. “Why?” he queried, adding: “I think everyone who suffered would have to be compensated then if students demand compensation from the government. But is the compensation being seen in terms of time or money? The only thing I may suggest as compensation is for lecturers to double their efforts to ensure that students get the best training with the little that the federal government has offered.”
Education Rights Campaign (ERC), a non-governmental organisation, blamed the government for the students’ unpalatable strike experience, but stressed that there is no need for compensation. Its national coordinator, Hassan Soweto, said: “Students, who are demanding compensation, are doing so out of frustration. Their situation is understandable. But there are questions they need to answer. Who will grant this demand? In what form will the compensation come? I honestly do not think that any student demanding compensation is right because they are giving an impression that students are not part of the struggle to save public education.”
Source: The Nation Newspaper.
