POSITION PAPER OF THE EDUCATION RIGHTS CAMPAIGN (ERC) TO THE ASUU-NAAT-NASU-SSANU NATIONAL SUMMIT ON EDUCATION HOLDING IN ABUJA FROM 27 TO 31 OCTOBER 2014
1.0.
INTRODUCTION
This position paper by
the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) is aimed at highlighting the real roots of
the crisis of the education sector in Nigeria and proffering the way forward.
Also included is a perspective of the roles that trade unions, students and working
masses can play in the process of rescuing the education sector from the abyss.
1.1.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS
1.1.1. QUALITY DECLINE IN THE
EDUCATION SECTOR: A STATISTICAL OVERVIEW
It will be restating the obvious to state that the
Nigerian education sector is in crisis. However, a statistical x-ray of all the
levels of education in Nigeria would provide a deeper insight of the enormity
of the crisis that education is entrapped in. Nigeria ranks 142nd in
health and basic education globally as well as 113th in higher
education and training and was among the last 20 in the world.
Some research findings reveal as follows:
A.
Basic education: Low enrolment and low quality teachers
10.5
million Nigerian children of school-going age are not attending school –
highest in the world (Source: Education For All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report
2012). According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report
Index, 2011-2012, Nigeria was ranked 140th out of 144 countries in primary
education enrolment. Enrolment of children into schools is as low as 12.0% in
some states. 6 million of 36 million girls out of school world-wide are
Nigerians.
Nigeria
is one of the few countries in the world that has had to launch a boy-child
education campaign. This was launched by the Federal Government in the
South-east in June 2012. In 2008, Kwara State tested 19,125 teachers in Primary
Four Mathematics; only seven teachers attained the minimum benchmark for the
test in Mathematics. Only one of 2,628 teachers with degree passed the
test; 10 graduates scored zero. The literacy assessment recorded only 1.2 per
cent pass.
B.
Secondary education: Students’ poor performance records
The
President Jonathan Federal Government claims to be carrying out a
“transformation agenda” in Nigeria’s economy and public education sector since
2011, yet Nigeria’s out-of-school children grew to 10.5 million over the same
period.
The 2014
May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), over 60%
failure was recorded with just 31.28% obtaining credits in five subjects. This
came on the heels of similar performances in the past two years. 36.57% and
38.81% had credits in five subjects respectfully in 2013 and 2012 editions of
the same examination. Attempts are being made to dump the blame for this
terrible failure on parents and teachers but the reality is that the
fundamental cause of the failure is government underfunding of education. Other
indicators in the education sector have continued to decline at the same rate.
C.
Universities and other tertiary institutions
The
rot in this sub-sector is reflected in the low quality of graduates. Nigeria’s
university system is in a crisis of manpower. Instead of having not less than
80 per cent of the academics with Ph.Ds, only 43 per cent are Ph.D holders
while the remaining 57 per cent are not. And instead of 75 per cent of the
academics to be between Senior Lecturers and Professors, only about 44 per cent
are within the bracket while the remaining 56 per cent are not. The staff mix
in some universities is alarming. Kano State University, Wudil (established in
2001) is said for instance to have only one professor and 25 Ph.Ds.
There
is an average of 4 abandoned projects per university in Nigeria with negative
consequences for classrooms, laboratories, students’ hostels, and staff
accommodation. Poor infrastructure adversely affects teaching, research,
learning and students’ health and safety. The polytechnics and colleges of
education are no better as they confront infrastructural problems and decay. Their
products are subjected to inferiority in the labour market. Also there is 56.9%
shortfall in the academic staff of public Colleges of Education translating
into a shortage of 14, 858 lecturers. In a similar vein, there is 56.9%
shortfall in the academic staff of public polytechnics and monotechnics
translating into a shortage of 17, 548 lecturers. (Shu’ara, J. (2010) Higher
Education Statistics – Nigeria Experience in Data collection).
1.1.2. UNDER FUNDING, COMMERCIALIZATION AND FEE HIKE
The Federal Government has never met the 26 per
cent annual budgetary allocation recommended by the United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The highest the FG has allocated
to the sector is 13 per cent. It would be recalled that the Academic Staff Union
of Universities waged a six month-long struggle in 2013 for proper funding of
education which forced government to release N200 billion into the University
system.
However, under the impact of an increasingly unstable world
economic situation, the Nigerian ruling class’s continuing refusal to invest in
social infrastructure while the country’s population is rapidly growing has led
to a wave of attacks on public education. The government through University managements
has denied students from poor background access to education. For instance in
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State, the university made sharp increases in the
fee regime in what was believed to be a
means of retrieving the gains of the struggle waged by ASUU. This is in line
with the grand plan to introduce tuition into federal universities as tacitly
reflected in the resolution of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors recently.
The States controlled by the so-called
“opposition” political parties are equally underfunding education thereby
creating myriad of infrastructural decay and poor learning conditions. For
instance, it took the united and tenacious struggles of students, education
workers (ASUU, SSANU), ERC and mass of working people in Lagos state to force
the Fashola regime to reverse the fee hike in Lagos State University. Ditto for
the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) and other institutions in some of these
“opposition-controlled” states. Hence, education commercialization has become a
major policy as governments at all levels are cutting social spending as well
as intensifying attacks on living condition.
2.0.
STATEMENT
OF SOLUTIONS
Having examined the
problems bedeviling the education sector in Nigeria, this paper would move on
to examine the solutions that is needed. However, it is the view of the ERC
that while struggles must be waged to defend and improve education it must be
clearly said that the fundamental
solution lies in working people’s government that will mobilise the enormous
resources of society to meet the urgent needs of all. Therefore the four staff
unions (ASUU, NAAT, SSANU and NASU) that constitute the convening authority of
this Education Summit must equally provide steadfast example for other trade
unions in the education sector and the wider workers’ movement to follow in
terms of rising up to the task of building a genuine working people’s political
alternative.
2.1.
ADEQUATE FUNDING OF EDUCATION
The abysmal low level
of allocation to education must be reversed. According to the United Nations
Education and Socio-Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), 26 percent of the annual budgets
should be allocated to the education sector. However, as stated earlier the
highest that has been allocated to education is 13%.
ASUU fought a
courageous struggle to force the hands of the Federal Government to commit more
resources to the university system. A broader struggle involving all the staff
unions, student movement and the entire labour movement working together is
needed today to force the hands of governments at all levels to commit adequate
resources to fund education.
2.2
AUTONOMY AND INTERNAL DEMOCRACY
Autonomy and internal
democracy are essential to the University system. Unfortunately over the years
government has interpreted the demand for University autonomy to mean that
universities will also be responsible for their own funding. To make the
University system operate without bureaucratic bottleneck and administrative
curtailment, full autonomy must be granted to ensure that whilst Universities
are funded by the State, they have enough independence in the election of their
principal management officials and determination of other matters without undue
interference by the State that acts as an arm of one or more factions of the
ruling class. At the same time however, management of Universities,
polytechnics, monotechnics, colleges of education, teacher training institutes
must be democratized in such a way that elected representatives of students,
workers, parents and communities are allowed in the decision making organs
instead of the current bureaucratic manner, which breeds corruption and
mismanagement, that tertiary
institutions are run.
2.3.
INFRASTRUCTURAL REPAIR AND DEVELOPMENT
An urgent repair of
critical infrastructure is needed at all levels of the education sector. This
would mean providing latest facilities for learning based on latest technological
advancement. For instance, information technology devices are now being used
for primary and post-primary education and a serious programme of revamping
education must take into cognizance these advancements.
2.4.
REMUNERATION AND PENSIONS OF EDUCATION WORKERS
What has been the most
recurring crisis in the education sector has been the poor remuneration of both
teaching and non-teaching staff in the education sector. A comprehensive policy
of improved remuneration of the workers in the education sector in line with
rate of inflation as well as a genuine pension scheme is urgently needed to
retain the academic and non-academic staff currently in the system and attract
new ones.
The current
contributory pension scheme is exploitative and education workers’ unions must
demand a reversal of these policies to a pro-worker and efficient pensions’
scheme in which workers would be paid living pensions that will take into
account the rising rate of inflation. The new Pension Scheme has forced workers
to contribute more mostly out of their meager salaries compared to the former
scheme and this amounts to attack on workers living condition. In addition to
pension, government must build social infrastructures aimed at providing
security for all basic needs such as housing, food, health, education etc., for
all including the aged.
2.5.
NYSC
In view of the over 40
years of the existence of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), its
continuous relevance in the 21st century has to be discussed taking
into consideration all the adversities Nigerian students have suffered through
this scheme. The current effort to commercialize it through the introduction of
a N4, 000 charge must be strongly rejected while the welfare, including
allowance, of Corp members must be greatly improved. However, we of the ERC
hold that NYSC should be voluntary without any consequence for graduates who
may not wish to partake in the scheme.
2.6:Post-UTME
Another examination for candidates who have passed Universal Tertiary
Matriculation Examination (UTME) and known as Post-UTME was introduced a few years ago by force by
universities against the background of the corruption and failure of
examination bodies like JAMB and WAEC. However the ERC feels that the
additional cost of the Post-UTME cannot continue to be borne by students and
parents. It is unfair! By virtue of the introduction of Post-UTME, parents now have
to pay enormous amounts for at least three different examinations in a year. In
many Universities, Post-UTME has now become a means of raising additional funds to
the detriment of students and their poor parents. We suggest that the cost of
Post-UTME should be borne by the Universities.
2.7
HND AND BSc DICHOTOMY
The dichotomy between
HND and Bsc. certificates is a false and artificial dichotomy which is being
maintained by the government and private employers of labour in order to
downgrade the skill of a section of the population so they can pay cheaply for
it. This explains why HND certificates holders doing the same job as BSc
holders are paid less and have less chance of ascending to the top of their
career. It is also a reflection of a sick imperialist-dominated economy that
depends on the export of raw materials, importation of finished or
semi-finished goods and without any serious plan for industrialization. The ERC
proposes that the summit should uphold the demand of Polytechnic workers and
students for the elimination of this dichotomy.
3.0.
A
NATIONAL EMERGENCY ON EDUCATION
The crisis in the education sector is not only
alarming, it is a disaster that will set back Nigeria’s human and economic
development for decades thus mortgaging the future of generations unborn if it
is unchecked now. However the ERC is convinced on the basis of the material
wealth of this country and the resourcefulness of its people that within a ten-
year period much of these problems can be resolved and the education sector
restored on a path of progress if clear people-centered policies are propounded
and a vigorous drive for their implementation is set off.
This will require the implementation of a free education
policy for all and the mobilization of all the required resources of society to
accomplish it at all levels. The question if often asked: how will Nigeria get
money to fund free education? The situation in the education sector is dire.
Extreme problems they say require extreme solutions. To this end, the ERC
supports the call for the declaration of a state of emergency on education and
the adoption of the following steps to set the education sector on the path of
revitalization within a period of ten years:
(1) Immediate increase in the
allocation to education to 26% (with capital allocation taking nothing less
than 60% of this) of annual budget.
(2)
Declaration
of free education at all levels. How will this be
funded? We propose the following:
(a) For government to adopt as state
policy that all political office holders must enroll their children in public
schools. For this principle to be included in the criteria
for election at all levels of governance and for appointment into key public
offices in the ministries and parastatals. It is unjust for political office
holders who cost the country trillions of naira for their monthly salaries and
upkeep to then use our money to cater for their own children in private schools
while our public schools are in decay.
(b) For a drastic cut in the excessive pay
and emolument of all political office holders.
No political office holder must earn more than the wage of a skilled worker
with the understanding that any legitimate incidental expenses will be covered
by the state. Any political office holder that cannot serve the country on the
wage of a skilled worker should be asked to vacate the post for those who can.
Establishing the principle that a politician is not more important than a University
professor is vital in the process of rejuvenating our education system and
attracting the best to take up teaching appointments. The amount recovered from this cost-saving
exercise should be invested in public education and other social infrastructure
to meet basic needs
(c) Tax the rich and wealthy
corporations to fund public education. The huge profit
locked in the vaults of multinational oil companies, telecommunication giants
and industries if heavily taxed by government will go a long way to provide
much of the needed resources to fund quality education. Much of this wealth is
being wasted by individual CEOs and their friends and relatives to finance
obscene life styles anyway. The exponential growth of market for luxury goods
like jets, fast cars, yachts in Nigeria while over 10.5 million children are
out of school is the height of societal injustice. An initial bold step in this
direction should be to drastically review the Tertiary Education Tax Fund
(TETFUND) from 5% of assessable profit of companies to a progressive education
tax that starts from 5% as a baseline and then rises progressively to as much
as 25% depending on the size of the assessable profits of local and
multinational companies.
(d) Public ownership of the commanding
heights of the economy like crude oil production, finance, industries and
agriculture under workers democratic control and management.
For as long as Nigeria’s economy is dominated big and multinational companies
whose preoccupation for engaging in production is to make profit, we will
continue to lack the resources to invest in public education and other social
needs because a good portion of resources that should be invested are already
being taken out of the economy by the private sector in the form of profit. This
is made worse by the fact that, given the domination of the world economy by
imperialism, the Nigerian capitalists generally have a “take the money and run”
approach, investing only in things that can give them an immediate profit. But
by nationalizing the local and multinational oil companies, banks, energy,
telecommunications and other industries, agriculture under workers democratic
control and management, it will be possible to begin to implement a rationale
plan of development that will ensure that Nigeria’s economy grows to the benefit
of the people instead of the bank accounts of a few individuals and
corporations as we have presently.
However by
nationalization and public ownership, we do not mean a return to the era of the
highly bureaucratized and mismanaged state-owned corporations like NITEL and
NEPA. These corporations were owned by
the capitalist State but were run in an undemocratic and bureaucratic manner
such that they became ineffective after a few years. However as the power sector
now demonstrates, privatization is not a credible alternative as well. To avoid
this kind of debacle is why ERC is calling for public ownership of the
commanding heights of the economy while stressing the need for their democratic
control and management by the working people to ensure that these nationalized
corporations work for the need of society.
(e) End capitalism. For the
establishment of a democratic socialist Nigeria under which rule it would be
easily possible to mobilize all resources to ensure the provision of free and
quality education at all levels as well as other essential social services.
The reality is that every of the steps outlined
above as ways to ensure public education is free run into conflict with
capitalism. The ruling class will not accept a pay cut willingly neither will
they accept that the commanding heights of the economy be placed under public
ownership and democratic control. To implement any of these steps will require
the uprising of the working class, students and poor masses and a relentless
struggle to end the capitalist system and to establish in its place a
democratic socialist system. The struggle for free education is therefore bound
inexorably with the struggle to end capitalism in Nigeria.
4.0.
CONCLUSION
This summit will not
have succeeded if all that will happen at the end is simply to submit its
recommendations to the Federal government to implement. The same government
that routinely fails to implement agreements reached with trade unions should
not be trusted to willingly implement the recommendations of this summit.
Therefore the ERC
hereby suggests that the recommendations of this summit should be transformed
into a CHARTER OF DEMAND and a united movement involving ASUU, other workers
and students unions in the education sector, the wider labour movement and
civil society be built to begin an immediate and earnest campaign for these
demands through rallies, protests, strikes and boycotts. We propose that a
one-day strike and mass protest of all the unions and civil society groups
should be strongly considered in the new year to launch this charter of demand
and begin to struggle to win improvement in the condition of public education at
local and national level.
In any case, the above
highlighted solutions are not fully achievable within the current neo-liberal capitalist
system. The unwillingness of different regimes in power to meet the demands of
workers as shown in periods of industrial action is a convincing confirmation
of this.
What is urgently needed
by way of reiteration is for the trade unions in the education sector and other
genuine progressive forces to rise up to the challenge of building a mass
genuine working people’s political alternative. Such a genuine working people’s
political alternative must be armed with a comprehensive programme of placing
the commanding heights of the economy under democratic working class control.
It is only by such a genuine working people’s political alternative coming to
power and galvanizing the enormous resources of society to meet the urgent
needs in the education sector as well as other key sectors that there can be a
leeway for the working masses.
We of the Education
Rights Campaign (ERC), in this respect, support the initiative of the Socialist
Party of Nigeria (SPN) which was initiated by the Democratic Socialist Movement
(DSM) as a step towards the building of a broader mass genuine working people’s
political alternative. The Socialist Party of Nigeria made a submission of its
application to the Independent National Electoral Commission and has met all
conditions for party registration under the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and
the Electoral Act 2010(2011 as amended) with the aim of standing genuine
working class candidates in the coming 2015 general elections and beyond. However,
the Independent National Electoral Commission has refused to register the SPN
claiming to have “terminated its registration” apparently because it poses a working
people economic and political alternative which is a threat to the system. We urge trade unions in the education sector
and the broader workers’ movement to support the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN)
in the battle for its registration as a step towards posing a sharp working
class alternative to all the moribund neo-liberal policies of all the pro-rich political
parties.
We call further on the
Academic Staff Union of Universities in particular to take active steps in
respect of its call for a new and genuine workers’ party, with all the lessons
learnt from past efforts in spearheading an appropriate Political Conference involving
the wider labour movement in the struggle for the formation of a genuine mass working
people’s political alternative.
Hassan Taiwo Soweto Michael Ogundele
National Coordinator National Secretary
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