Following the resumption of academic activities in various universities as ASSU calls off strike, the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, NECA, has urge the government and Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to put a permanent stop to the never-ending strike in the universities.
They added that the ceaseless strike has make most graduate of the Nigerian university find it difficult to get employment, stating that the strike was worsening the employability of graduates.
Speaking on the decision of the three months ASUU strike between the Federal Government and ASUU, NECA said the strike has now become a cliché and a yearly tradition to our education system, which is not very good for the students and even the nation.
NECA pleaded with all stakeholders to ensure that the university system was not disrupted by any industrial unrest, adding that all hands must be on deck to ensure there is no disruption at all in the nation’s education system.
The statement signed by NECA’s Director-General, Mr. Timothy Olawale, in Lagos, said: “The news of the calling off of the strike came as a huge relief and we would like to commend ASUU and the Federal Government for going through the tortuous process of arriving at an agreement. We believe this was done in the interest of students and the nation at large.
‘’Though the calling off of the strike is commendable, we are deeply concerned about how the ‘annual’ strike continues to be a recurrent issue in our educational system. It has become almost impossible for students in tertiary institutions to have one session at a stretch without interruption. ‘’
The three months’ strike has further cemented the perception of the Nigerian student as being unemployable due to the ceaseless interruptions of their academic activities. ‘’In the Human Development Index, HDI, ranking, Nigeria sits in a pitiable 157th position of the 189 countries assessed in 2017.
“If we are desirous of improving our HDI ranking, we cannot continue to treat our education system with disdain. Our focus now should be on ensuring our students learn without any interruption and as a matter of urgency, commence an overall reform of our educational system.”