{"id":6318,"date":"2013-07-11T07:26:39","date_gmt":"2013-07-11T07:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigerian-newspapers\/the-university-teacher-out-out-there-on-strike\/"},"modified":"2013-07-11T07:26:39","modified_gmt":"2013-07-11T07:26:39","slug":"the-university-teacher-out-out-there-on-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/the-university-teacher-out-out-there-on-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"The University Teacher \u2013 Out, out, there on strike"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What is Semester<\/p>\n

What is session<\/p>\n

What is Calendar<\/p>\n

These are common terms in Universities<\/p>\n

Sacrosanct and respected in polite, proud, urban Ivory towers.<\/p>\n

But no, not in Nigeria<\/p>\n

While dons elsewhere<\/p>\n

Seek knowledge, advance learning<\/p>\n

Teachers here seek<\/p>\n

Power, seek money<\/p>\n

Our allowance must be paid forward:-<\/p>\n

Musical instruments allowances,<\/p>\n

Allowance to keep our step-mothers comfortable,<\/p>\n

Allowance for sleeping late,<\/p>\n

Allowance for magazine published in Montenegro,<\/p>\n

What about our fresh air allowance?<\/p>\n

The Nigerian Dons must be comfortable.<\/p>\n

Learning in Nigerian University<\/p>\n

By pamphlets, handouts and lifted pages<\/p>\n

Students who are happy to cut corners relish<\/p>\n

These plagiarized papers.<\/p>\n

Contended to read for examinations<\/p>\n

Rather than learning for knowledge<\/p>\n

Facilities, equipment rot away<\/p>\n

Antiquated, outdated instruments of learning<\/p>\n

Governments and teachers trading blames<\/p>\n

On decaying and decadent system.<\/p>\n

Public Universities and their teachers<\/p>\n

Have become nightmares to Nigerians<\/p>\n

In and out of the classroom<\/p>\n

They squander the nation’s wealth on trivialities<\/p>\n

On imponderables<\/p>\n

Up, up spring new schools<\/p>\n

Private institutions<\/p>\n

With glamorous names<\/p>\n

And holistic mission and romantic vision<\/p>\n

Vowing they will reshapen education and give<\/p>\n

New directions<\/p>\n

Religious stalwarts with big hearts<\/p>\n

Ploughing, burroughing into tertiary institutions<\/p>\n

Carrying the gospel of discipline and integrity<\/p>\n

Into the Educational sector.<\/p>\n

Heads must come together or roll together<\/p>\n

Moderation in demands<\/p>\n

Renewed vigour in re-investments<\/p>\n

Structures, equipment, programmes must be<\/p>\n

Re-invigorated<\/p>\n

Famished facilities brought to life<\/p>\n

Goodness!<\/p>\n

The nation must be saved<\/p>\n

From this dog fight:<\/p>\n

For a nation that toys with the education and<\/p>\n

Cultivation of its youth<\/p>\n

Is heading for oblivion<\/p>\n

Comment<\/p>\n

University education especially at public level has become a huge joke and an embarrassement to many in Nigeria. Replete with all antisocial elements, students have increasingly contributed to the problems of society. Fed with half-baked materials, taught by teachers who regard themselves more important than the community they are out to serve, tertiary education has become a nightmare to many.<\/p>\n

More than students perhaps; University Teachers have consistently diminished the aura to which these citadels were regarded. Walking out \u2013 their jobs at intervals that can almost be predicted their behavior and social responsibility may now be seen to fall below the national average.<\/p>\n

The solution? Some solution lies in private participation in establishing and funding of tertiary education. But the cost is enormous, perhaps three times that of public system. There is the advantage however of students spending the minimum number of years (semester) in private schools whereas the period may extend to five or six years in public institutions because of the regular walk-out of academic staff in the latter.<\/p>\n

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Chief Oladeji Fasuan published this poem in his book, Poetic Reflections of Lively Issues.<\/p>\n

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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. <\/a>A DisNaija.Com<\/a> network.<\/p>\n

Source: The Nation Newspaper<\/p>\n

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