How incessant strikes affect students’ mental health, career path

Nigerians believe that if there is one thing the President Bola Tinubu–led administration must get right, it is curbing incessant strikes in public universities.

This is because President Tinubu, in his ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda, among other things, promised to stop the issue of incessant strikes on campuses if elected into office. Besides, this continuous impasse between the federal government and tertiary institution staff has a way of endangering the future of Nigerian students and would render his student loan scheme inconsequential.

Friday Erhabor, the director of media and strategies at Marklenez Limited, said the incessant strikes on the campuses are unfortunate and called on both the government and unions to consider the students in their decisions.

“The government must ensure this incessant strike in the universities ceases. It was one of the promises of President Tinubu.

“Our university lecturers, as well as non-academic staff, must also realise that there are also other options of addressing the challenges of inadequate funding beyond the strike. They should think outside the box and explore internally generated revenue,” he said.

Erhabor decried the fact that since the 1990s, when the use of strike options escalated, it has yet to solve the problem.

Hence, he urges academic and non-academic staff of public tertiary institutions to look inward and face the reality of the inability of the government to meet their needs.

Many Nigerians are glad to hear that the indefinite strike declared by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) on Sunday, October 27, over the continuous withholding of their four months’ salaries since 2022 has been called off.

Stakeholders maintained that such a strike is a setback to the academic journey of Nigerian students whose aspirations are being clogged by these incessant strikes resulting from the impasse with the federal government.

Nubi Achebo, the director of academic planning at the Nigerian University of Technology & Management said that the frequent strikes on public university campuses usually have devastating consequences on students’ academic performance and mental health.

Read also: NASU, SSANU suspend indefinite strike over withheld salaries 

“These strikes, due to disagreements between the government and academic unions, disrupt the academic calendar, leading to prolonged school years and distorted academic activities.

“The strike affects students’ capacity to learn, and fuels social vices; because idle periods during strikes lead students into vices,” he said.

Besides, he said that incessant strikes can affect students’ mental health.

“Strikes cause significant stress, anxiety, and uncertainty among students,” he stressed.

Achebo disclosed that the more these strikes happen Nigeria is bound to see a continued decline in the standards and quality of its school products. “This is not a good position to be in as we move the knowledge economy. Nigerian educational system, especially the tertiary level, should be seen as the bulwark that is powering virtually all the other systems and as such needs focused attention from the government,” he noted.

He called on the government to always honour and implement agreements; and to the university staff, he counseled them to explore alternative dispute resolution avenues beyond strikes to resolve issues.

Isaiah Ogundele, an educationist blames the government for the persistent strikes witnessed in the public tertiary education sector.

“I cannot blame academic and the non-academic staff for the strikes because an adage says to use what you have to get what you need. Since the government is not ready to do the needful all the stakeholders in our tertiary institutions and other institutions whose consciences have not been bought over will go on strike because a hungry man is an angry man.

“Parents and students are always the people that suffer the lacunas because where two elephants fight; the grass will suffer. My son has spent over six years now for a programme of five years without having any academic issues,” he said.

Ogundele said he opted for a private university for his last born because, by the time a child spends seven years for four years, those who gained admission after them for the same programme but went to the private institutions will graduate ahead of them and might become their boss in the office.

The incessant industrial action either by the academic or non-academic unions breeds jaded effects on the quality and readiness of Nigerian fresh graduates to grab job opportunities in the labour markets.

The strikes no doubt give rise to a learning crisis at the tertiary education level and prolong students’ years of graduation. Invariably, this means that students are exposed to a distorted learning atmosphere which does not allow for ideal knowledge impartation, and at the same time leads to prolonged academic years.

Olamide Adeyeye, a human resource expert with Jobberman told BusinessDay that the incessant strikes have huge negative effects on students, leaving them with low competitive advantages in the labour market.

“Over 80percent of graduates are from public universities, and the strike makes them lose time without getting any job while at home; and because of the uncertainty over when the strike will end, students are left in a dilemma on what to do even if they have the opportunity of getting a job.

“Demographically, young people are preferred by labour market. Fresh graduates above 26 years are in the disadvantaged cadre, and most times this is a result of industrial actions and the academic elongations that come with it,” he said.

Adeyeye reiterated that the strike actions also have a way of breeding apathy for education among the students.

“It erodes the value of education, perceptions, and uptake among the youths. Education that should be the pathway out of poverty for the common man is made to deepen inequality leading to insecurity,” he said.