Students of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), have appealed to the Federal
Government to settle its differences with the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) amicably and fast, to enable them to return to
school.
Some of the students told a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent
on Thursday in Kano that they were not happy about the development,
describing it as “worrisome” and “disturbing.”
Mr Hamisu Balarabe, a 400 level economics student, said he was eager
to graduate from the university when he heard about the latest ASUU
strike. He said: “the strike has shattered my dreams because it means I
will have to stay longer than I anticipated.
“Honestly, the strikes by ASUU have disrupted our educational
pursuit because we cannot plan our lives anymore. It is very disturbing
for us, especially the prospective graduating students.”
Mariya Aminu, a 300 level mass communication student, noted students whose parents lived outside Kano were even more affected.
She said such students had to spend extra money to travel back home and to school again when they re-open.
A new student, Bilyaminu Abdulkadir, who said that the strike has
demoralised him, added that “I don’t even know what to do because the
strike came even before I settled down in school.”
He urged the Federal Government to negotiate with ASUU and find a
lasting solution to the problem for the benefit of the upcoming
generation.
In his reaction, Alhaji Aminu Bello, a parent, also urged the
Federal Government to negotiate with the union in order to settle the
lingering government/ASUU discrepancies.
He said it was high time the government settled with the union “so
that our children can settle down and concentrate oin their studies.
“A situation whereby our children keep jumping in and out of school
because of strike is not good for the country, more especially when the
crime situation is increasing.
“These children need to be engaged and when they are not in school,
what do you expect them to do? These are young adults and adults who
must channel their energies into something meaningful.
“The Federal Government and ASUU must negotiate and find a lasting
solution to this perennial problem, if we all want this country to
progress. These are our leaders of tomorrow.”
ASUU embarked on an indefinite strike on July 1, to compel the
Federal Government to fulfil its pledges to it, as declared by the
National President, Mr Isa Fagge.
