Lecturers, Students Unmotivated, Traders Excited As Nigerian Universities Reopen PremiumTimesng: Nigeria
Following the suspension of the prolonged strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities , the authorities of the concerned universities have in the past two weeksMany revised their academic calendars and ordered the immediate resumption of academic activities with the aim of covering the lost ground.
From the University of Lagos to the University of Abuja , Bayero University Kano , Federal University of Technology Akure , and, among others, concerned lecturers told PREMIUM TIMES' reporters that they were not motivated to work. "In the last eight months I spent my time learning skills related to my course and I was beginning to really settle into it when they called off the strike," he said.The student said he had remained in his first year since enrolling at the university in 2019, hoping there would be no other strike till the end of his academic programme.
But the population of returning students on campus is still low despite the commencement of lectures. During a lecture for students of graduating class of Public Administration on Tuesday, only about 25 students attended, said a member of the class, Muhammad Nasir. He said there are over 130 students in the class.
One of the fresh students, Reuben Bulus, said he started his registration shortly before the ASUU strike and was back on campus to complete it. Others said they could not start the registration before the strike was declared. "Just when we resumed, I learnt that 11 lecturers have left while three papers are still pending. So when they leave, the backlog of their work is now the responsibility of the few lecturers left. So you carry an additional load, and you are stressed, which nobody pays for," the source said.Meanwhile, students at UNILAG said academic activities have commenced in full throttle.
"The academic calendar doesn't favour the 100-level students, and we are trying to speak on their behalf to the school management to see if they can give them more time to prepare. As a 400-level student, I can manage. But 100-level students that have not attempted any university examination and their first semester results matter a lot in boosting their CGPA.
Another final-year student of Creative Art, Esther Omoyele, said she lost all motivation to attend to her projects during the strike despite having a topic approved and a supervisor assigned to her.Meanwhile, during a meeting with the students on Friday, the university's outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, announced the approval of a one-week extension by the management.
Our reporter observed that the bus station opposite the school gate where students board buses from the old site to the permanent site was near empty and without the commercial buses present.A 100-level student of the Department of Biochemistry, Moses Edozie, among others, complained that their belongings, including cooking gas cylinders, were stolen from their hostels during the break.
A 300-level student, Adetutu Adelani, expressed happiness about the resumption but also concern over the heavy workload.
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