STUDENTS TO JONATHAN: LEAVE SUBSIDY ALONE
With the ASUU strike streching into the new year and the removal of fuel subsidy, students are afraid that things may be worse than they were last year. HANNAH OJO (400-Level English, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife), GILBERT ALASA (300-Level Foreign Languages, University of Benin) and BUSAYO DADA (NYSC, Onitsha) write.
Morning, they say, shows the day. With fivedays gone in the new year, students already seem to know what it has in store for them. To them, there is nothing new inthe year because most of the problems of last year have been carried over into 2012. The problems, they say, have been compounded by the removal of fuel subsidy on January 1.
According to them, subsidy removal will further impoverish their parents. The policy came on the heels of the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)strike over the non-implementation of the agreement between the group and the Federal Government. The implementation of the agreement has been a bone of contention between ASUU and the government for years.
In 2009, ASUU reached an agreement with the government on some issues, including autonomous funding of universities, new salary structure and retirement age for university teachers. Before the parties signed the agreement, ASUU had declared an indefinite strike, which disrupted the academic calendar of many institutions and delayed the graduation of final year students. The industrial action was called off following the intervention of some eminent Nigerians.
Two years after, ASUU is accusing the government of insincerity, saying the agreement had been implemented. The union went on a two- week warning strike last November, to remind the government of its promise to implement the agreement . When the government did nothing, the lecturers went on indefinite strike on December 5.
With subsidy removal, students of higher institutions who live off campus will face hard times. The cost of transportation and house rent are bound to rise, some of the students told Campus link, adding that their parents cannot cope with their meagre salaries.
Also, the prices of essential commodities will go up, leading to high cost of feeding.
For allowing the ASUU strike to stretch into the New Year, students chided the Federal Government, saying it has no programme to improve the education sector. Those who spoke to CAMPUSLINK rejected the subsidy removal, adding that 2012 may be worse than the previous year.
David Dada, HND 1 Estate Management, Lagos State Polytechnic, said: "It is sad that education did not fare well in 2011 and I don’t see 2012 being any better. It appears the government has no plan for the sector by allowing the ASUU strike to spill over into the New Year. And just on the first dayin January, the government chose to remove fuel subsidy. This is unfair. I think they have failed us."
Bayo Omoniyi, 300-level Political Science, Osun State University, said: "For ages, one major issue that has been the bane of Nigerian education is incessant strikes. Not only do strikes disrupt academic calendars, they also affect the students in negative terms. This year, I want the Federal Government to do whatever it can to honour the agreement it had with ASUU in 2009. This is because, as it is, students are fast losing confidence in the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. Let them go back to the negotiation table so that lecturers will go back to their classes.
"I don’t think there is a government in place in this country. We have so many universities in Nigeria, yet Jonathan’s administration still thought more varsities will solve the lingering crisis in the education sector. I must say that 2011 is bad for Nigeria’s education sector, because it was the year students started rushing down to Malaysia to acquire quality education. Yet, the government expects us to welcome subsidy removal with laughter.I don’t see any end to the problems bedeviling education in 2012 because the year started on a bad note," said Precious Ibekwem, a 300-Level Foreign Languages student at the University of Benin(UNIBEN).
Peter Edochie, a 400-Level student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said: "The removal of oil subsidy has shown that the government is not concerned about the wellbeing of students. They have mismanaged our economy through policies that are anti-people. The education sector is the most affected because students will start complaining about inability to pay school fees and buy books. The government should revisit this policy and listen to the voice of the masses."
Miss Oyinye Niri, a corps member serving in Onitsha, Anambra State, said: "Government should look into the demand of ASUU to reverse the tide in education sector. My take on subsidy removal is that the money should be returned so that prices of commodities won’t be hiked. We have other issues crying for government’s attention, but because our leaders probably don’t care about our welfare, they chose to turn deaf ears to our plight. They should allow students to resume and leave subsidy alone."
STUDENTS TO JONATHAN: LEAVE SUBSIDY ALONE
Friday, January 6, 2012
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