Opinion I ASUU, FG and Fate of Nigeria's Higher Education

ASUU, FG AND FATE OF NIGERIA’S HIGHER EDUCATION

         

 For decades now, acquiring higher education in this part of the world – particularly Nigeria – has remained synonymous with cat and dog life owing to the unwholesome state of the country’s various tertiary institutions of learning. The said challenge, which is very glaring, might not be unconnected with the national and local issues affecting the way we plan for our future relevance and sustainability.

       

 Higher education is being reshaped by globalization and digital revolution, that, every institution of learning that knows its onions wants to find itself in the world map regardless of what it would cost. Prospective students are fast becoming academically aware and making decisions about education accordingly contrary to what it used to be. University rankings among other yardsticks of measuring greatness will increasingly have greater influence on positioning institutions in the international market, and graduate career-readiness is a growing student concern.

       

 Students are indeed looking for access to services and education across new technologies and more flexible delivery options. Towards being competitive as well as meeting these expectations, higher institutions would need to invest in expensive facilities and infrastructure. Higher citadels of learning, such as universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, are like manufacturing industries, hence, require adequate funding towards sustenance. Commencement of such business alone is strictly capital intensive, and its day-to-day running is sustained by thorough vigilance on the part of the management. Since schools are not profit-making industries unlike other capitalist firms, their functionality mainly depends on funds coming from outside rather than the students’ tuition fees.

         

Ironically, Nigeria’s learning citadels, precisely the higher ones, have been wearing pathetic physiognomy thus far, thereby making them produce half-baked products unabated, in the name of ‘graduates’. This set of unemployed youths is littered all over the country, searching for white-collar jobs that cannot be properly handled if given to them. And, since the jobs are not forthcoming, they would resort to such various social vices that would generate quick money as armed robbery, kidnapping, abduction, cultism, gambling, and so on.

        

Considering the aforementioned phenomenon, there’s no need to say that about eighty per cent (80%) reason Nigeria is currently awash with all kinds of dubious acts is the ongoing plight of unemployment, which is on the rampage. But if the so called job-seekers were well equipped/tutored while in school, they would have rather considered becoming employers of labour. They can only become self-reliant if the necessary teachings were given to them during their school days.

        

Take a walk to any university across the federation and see things for yourself. Facilities including laboratories, libraries, workshops, and even lecture classes/halls are nothing to write home about. Most of the institutions are, to assert the least, like glorified primary schools. What about the lecturers’ offices coupled with their wages? An average politician would go home with millions of naira on a weekly basis whereas a lecturer, on the average, cannot even boast of a hundred thousand naira (#100,000). It would interest, perhaps shock you to note that the basic salary of a ward councillor in Nigeria is about five times greater than the overall monthly wage of a professor who is reckoned to be most learned in any society.

        

A lot has really gone wrong, and it is high time we made amends toward attaining the anticipated greatness. Each year, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), among other labour unions in other higher learning citadels, embark on industrial action for a particular cause, yet the demon ravaging our schools remains seemingly unbeatable. The question now is: how do we unravel this lingering mystery, or should we continue folding our arms and watch it deteriorate into a more forbidden scene?

        

The answer is very simple. First, governments at all levels must ensure that heads of the institutions in question, to include vice-chancellor, rector, and provost for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, respectively, are strictly appointed via merit instead of mere favouritism which is usually the case. Astute administrators, or individuals of note, ought to be appointed to serve in such capacities.  
        

Sometimes, the poor state of these schools is partly attributed to the kind of person piloting their affairs. In most cases you would observe that a vice-chancellor, for instance, would spend several years fencing the institution, and end up not implementing any consequential project throughout his/her five-year tenure or as the case may be. This aspect of misappropriation of funds is, for quite some time now, being harboured as a culture in most existing higher citadels of learning across the federation.  

         

Similarly, the concerned quarters must ensure that only qualified individuals are employed as lecturers; engaging unqualified teachers in the institutions have succeeded in causing untold harm to the future of the teeming students, particularly the undergraduates. The wages of the lecturers must also be taken as priority by the governments, and those in privately owned institutions should equally be treated as such.

          

Universities, being research-oriented institutions, cannot thrive under the ongoing Treasury Single Account (TSA) regime of the present administration. The education sector – especially higher institutions – deserve unalloyed financial autonomy, thus they ought to be exempted from such mechanism. Since the initiative is targeted to curb corruption, the government can set up a formidable and reliable agency that would continually monitor how the schools are faring; and if anyone is found culpable in the process, he/she should be brought to book without much ado. It’s very pathetic and an eyesore that our universities are yet to commercialize their patents in an era where the society is expected to mainly depend on higher institutions as regards research works.

         

The fact is, adequate funding of higher education, which has been taken aback for decades now, is the only way we can make the affected institutions compete globally. There are absolutely no two ways about it. Though the ongoing Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) scheme is trying, a lot still needs to be done. Most times these funds are utilized on laboratory equipment that cannot be calibrated, or library materials such as books that are outdated, thereby making them serve as mere monuments or decorative materials as long as they last in the various benefiting institutions.

        

The ASUU, among others, on their part must endeavour to run an independent unionism at all times, rather than barely indulging in tokenism. The handwriting should invariably be clearly written on the wall for the concerned government regardless of the circumstance. Hence, they mustn’t spare the rot and spoil the child. They ought to acknowledge that any foul play they engage in is to the detriment of their students’ future, and that of Nigeria at large. If you have a cause you are fighting for, concentrate on how to drive to the end instead of succumbing to baseless and unfounded threats in the long run.

        

This recessionary era is obviously the ripe time to get the funding of the country’s higher education right, because any procrastination would surely be at the expense of the anticipated economic turnaround. Think about it!

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TechOpinion I Nigeria's SIWES On the Decline

NIGERIA’S SIWES ON THE DECLINE

        

The Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) – a skill acquisition programme designed to expose and prepare students of universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, as well as colleges of education for the industrial work situation they are likely to encounter after graduation – has been on the decline for decades now that it is liable to go into extinction in no distant time if drastic measure is not taken towards addressing the lingering anomaly.

       

SIWES was initiated to be a planned and supervised training programme based on specific learning and career objectives, and geared toward developing the occupational competencies of the participants. It is generic, cutting across over 60 programmes in the universities, over 40 in the polytechnics/monotechnics, and about 10 in the colleges of education. Hence, it is not meant for a particular course of study or discipline. Since inception, it is being reckoned to be an innovative phenomenon in human resources development in Nigeria.

        

While some institutions and disciplines permit SIWES’ duration for only three to six months, others go for up to one year. The programme, which permits the affected students to seek for Industrial Training (IT) or Teaching Practice (TP), as the case may be, in any establishment of their choice, has ab initio been a cause of concern to education and economic planners, particularly with respect to graduate employment and impact on the general societal development. There are equally mixed feelings concerning how much of it that is actually helpful to students’ academic performance and job readiness after graduation.

        

Whatever positive impact the SIWES has thus far created on the students’ well-being and the society at large, the truth is that the primary purpose for which the programme was established has recently been relegated to the background. The prevalence of the inability of SIWES’ participants to secure employment after the pragramme, or even perform adequately if eventually employed, casts doubt on the continuing relevance of the programme to the contemporary industrial development drive in the Nigerian society. This obvious lapse isn’t unconnected with negligence and/or apathy on the part of the trainees, trainers, concerned institutions, and the government.

        

It’s noteworthy that most of these students dodge the programme. They prefer indulging in activities that would fetch them money to going for the technical knowledge. To this set of individuals, partaking in the industrial programme is simply a waste of time and energy. In view of this misconception, when the programme is meant to take place, you would see them participating in all sorts of inconsequential menial jobs, or even gambling and what have you, just for the aim of raising some cash. This growing mentality of placing money before knowledge has contributed immensely in endangering the prospect of the laudable programme.

        

Those who bring out time to participate in the programme, are prone to one challenge or the other. It’s worth noting that greater percentage of the trainees is not paid by the establishments in which they are serving, not even stipend. Hence, they would end up making use of their personal funds to service their transportation and accommodation fees. It’s more worrisome to realize that most of these trainees are overused by the firms; rather than teaching them the needful, the supposed trainers would engage them in unnecessary activities, thereby making them lose interest in the training.

          

Worse still, most of the concernment institutions don’t cough up time to supervise the students in their respective places of assignment. Ridiculously, in most cases, the schools would remain ignorant of where the students are undergoing the training till the duration of the programme is over. This very loophole has over the years served as an advantage to those who never participated in the programme. In this case, during the SIWES defence, the affected student would claim to have undergone the training in any establishment of his/her choice, and the supposed supervisor would never bother to ascertain the truth.

        

Inter alia, funding of the SIWES hasn’t been encouraging in recent times. The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) – a body responsible in the day-to-day funding of the programme – currently appears incapacitated, perhaps owing to lack of adequate allocation from the government and other financiers. Sometimes, the students would be deprived of the statutory allowance they are entitled to after the programme. Those whom were lucky to receive theirs had to wait for a long time.

       

The SIWES is obviously yearning for resuscitation. The present state of moribund experienced by the scheme can only be properly addressed by revisiting the Acts that bind the programme. Such step would enable every authority involved to start seeing the initiative as a priority towards the anticipated economic diversification. The said Act should categorically specify what is expected of the trainee, trainer, school, as well as the government as regards the sustenance of the scheme. Similarly, there’s need for a relevant law enforcement agency that would penalize or prosecute any defaulter.

       

It’s indeed high time we revived this technical-oriented initiative whose motive truly means well for nation building. This can only be actualized by changing all the flat tyres that have succeeded in crippling the journey. Think about it!

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Social Media: The Pros and Cons

SOCIAL MEDIA: THE PROS AND CONS

         

In recent times, social media have seemingly dominated the information world. It is obviously distinct from other existing media networks in various ways. It operates in a dialogic transmission mode – many sources to many receivers – in contrast to print and electronic media that operate under a monologic transmission mode, one source to many receivers. It can simultaneously connect as many sources and receivers as possible.

       

 There are numerous other positive roles of social media networking in nation building. Though it’s a relatively new advancement in technology, it has made the world seem like just a minute clan owing to its ability to simultaneously connect millions of people from different localities across the globe, as well as spread news within a shortest time frame. Hence, it makes information go viral that it could be access from any locality. It enables one to reconnect with his/her old time friend or schoolmate. In addition, it helps people to stay connected to each other.

       

Social networking is a great way to meet entirely new people. One can discover individuals or groups that are into his social/business interests. Online dating is currently more common than the traditional pattern of dating, and many happily married couples today met online. On the other hand, social media is, at the moment, the fastest and easiest way to promote goods and services; and it gives such products a different dazzling look, thereby encouraging the audience to patronize them. Entertainers these days don’t need to be on TV/radio before they could be heard; they can globally market their brands online with ease.

       

The social media equally helps to catch and convict criminals. People are usually ignorant of the consequences of what they post online. Often times they post pictures or videos of themselves doing illicit things. They also place bragging posts regarding various crimes they have committed. The law enforcement agencies invariably visit these sites towards fishing out the bad eggs, as well as to trace a suspected culprit. The sites also assist the agencies while prosecuting any suspect in their custody.

        

However, it’s imperative to note that there are equally negative impacts of social media on mankind and the society at large. There are several falsehoods on various social media platforms; such information or propaganda can stir up panic and severe misinformation in the affected area. Though it helps to start new relationships, it had on the contrary succeeded in ruining or terminating various other existing relationships. The ability to easily share people’s privacy, such as nude pictures and videos, on social sites has constituted several nuisances in people’s real life. It suffices to say that it puts trust to a limit.

        

Cyber bullying is not left out. Having access to people’s lives at all times is not encouraging, because such avenue helps many online fraudsters to lure their potential victims into their net. Sometime in 2012, one Miss Cynthia Osokogu was cajoled to a hotel room via social media; at the said venue, she was brutally gang raped and therein murdered by the fraudsters. People are equally duped through social networking under the guise of ‘buying and selling’. The fact that you are not seeing who you are conversing with is enough reason to worry.

        

Prospective employers use the social media to scrutinize, and discriminate their intending employees. They would delve into the profile of the jobseeker, and by so doing they would acquire all the needed private information about him/her. Employers always use this mechanism to their advantage, and in most cases to the detriment of the applicant. Among all, one of the greatest plights attached to the social media remains that people are fast becoming addicted to it. This kind of craze causes a lot of distractions for people in their respective fields of endeavour.

        

Most people while conveying messages on social media prefer using symbols, smileys, abbreviations, and what have you, to writing words in full.  Hacking is another worrisome factor that can’t be overlooked while discussing the social media. Internet hackers can intercept your account under a certain guise or by gaining access to your password. Considering that most users of the social media aren’t professionals indicates that people are liable to constantly fall victim.

        

It would be ideal to regulate the day-to-day usage of the social media with a view to sustaining decency and legality. All stakeholders to include families, communities, schools, and religious bodies are required in implementing the proposed regulation. Aside legislation, the leaders of the stakeholders can institute a law binding the users of social media within their respective jurisdictions. The parents/guardians, for instance, can determine when and where cell phones should be used by their wards. Self-control would equally help to avoid several misfortunes.  
        

Above all, individuals, groups, and corporate organizations are advised to maintain a complicated password on their various accounts and endeavour to change it regularly, to avoid hacking. The social media is a viable platform but we must use it wisely and judiciously. Think about it!   

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