STAKEHOLDERS on Thursday bemoaned the near collapse of the public education system in Nigeria, especially universities as a result of inadequate attention by the government and persistent strike actions by staff unions of the institutions.
A member of the Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Shina Peller, speaking at a public lecture entitled, “Public Education System on the Brink of Collapse: Rescue it now or Prepare for the Alternative’ to mark the 40th anniversary celebration of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), said there was the need for concerted efforts to rescue public educational institutions in the country from total collapse.
While calling for more investment in education in the country, Peller urged staff unions in the system to explore other means of settling their grievances with the Goverment instead of strike actions, which he said have a debilitating effect on students’ academic pursuits.
He particularly, called on the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to be considerate and call off the strike in the interest of students.
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NANS President, Comrade Sunday Ashefon, on his part, lamented that strike actions in the tertiary education sector in Nigeria were challenges that administrations of the student body could not be able to resolve because of the multiplicity of issues that are always involved.
He said: “Perhaps the tertiary education sector in Nigeria is faced with one of the strongest tests in our history in the last few years. We have witnessed the total collapse of the sector as a result of the incessant strike.
“This challenge alone is bigger than what any NANS administration could resolve. However, our nation’s education system is on the brink and the entire nation must rise to the rescue. Where we go from here as a nation is dependent on how we collectively gather the crackers of the collapsing education system and rebuild it together as a nation.
“Nigeria does not belong here, our tertiary education system does not belong here and this is already taking its tore on the nation’s economy, security, and faith of the young people in the nation and its education system. We all must rise to the rescue.
“As we celebrate today, let us remember that we are only gathered here because education is part of our story and life, we must therefore do all it takes to ensure this part of our national life does not become a story of the past.”
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