The Effect of Strike Action on the Academic Performance of Students

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The origins of labor unionism may be traced back to the eighteenth century and Europe’s industrial revolution. During this period, there was a significant influx of new workers into the workplace who need representation. Labor unionism is a worldwide phenomenon. Labour unionism has existed in Nigeria since 1912, when government employees created a Civil Service Union. According to Wikipedia (2015), with the unification of the protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria, this organization became the Nigeria Union of Civil Servants. Two other important unions, the Nigeria Railway Workers Union and the Nigeria Union of Teachers, were established in 1931. As the number of employees increased and the necessity for representation increased, the need for a mother union became unavoidable, prompting the merging into one large or mother union that will oversee the activities of all workers under one umbrella organization known as the Nigeria Labour Congress (N.L.C). The (N.L.C) was legally established as Nigeria’s first national federation of trade unions in 1978 as a mother organization. According to Silverman (2004), the NLC has been a key voice for Nigerian workers from its inception, and has given rise to numerous other Industrial Unions in the fields of health, agriculture, finance, and education. Its primary goal is to safeguard, defend, and promote the rights, well-being, and interests of all employees, trade unions, and retirees in the country, which it has done via its different purposes and branches.

As a result, a union According to the Oxford Advanced Dictionary, a union is an organization formed by and for the benefit of employees to achieve collective workplace goals such as salary, benefits, work regulations, power, and so on. As a result, the founding of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as a branch of an industrial (Labour) union has resulted in some significant changes in the academic system of the country’s tertiary institutions. Many consider it as a godsend, while others see it as a clog in the Nigerian academic system and a means of discouraging pupils. As long as the Academic Staff Union and the Employer (Government), as represented by politicians, hold opposing beliefs and ideologies, there will be industrial conflicts between the two. In recent years, the academic staff unions (ASUU, ASUP, and COEASU) have taken action in response to the government’s attitude toward past agreements, conditions of service, remuneration, emoluments, and entitlements as prescribed by UNESCO, such as university autonomy and integration of polytechnic academic staff, which has resulted in frequent clashes and subsequent industrial actions by ASUU, ASUP, and specifically COEASU. When negotiating and confrontations fail to produce the intended results, these unions have frequently resolved to go on strike as a final option to balance the power between their employees and the government. Inferring that strike is the only language understood by the government at all levels.

According to Wikipedia (2015), the Union was active in the struggle against the military regime during the 1980s, when it frequently embarked on national strikes to obtain fair wages and university autonomy. After several struggles and opposition from the government, an agreement was reached on September 3rd, 1992, that met several of the union’s demands, including the right of workers to collective bargaining. The union went on strike again in 1994 and 1990 in response to the Abacha military regime’s firing of personnel.

Disruption in academic programs is an unavoidable result of any industrial action or strike. As a result, normal teaching and learning are stalled, and most students are prone to diverse activities such as sexual immorality, cyber scanning, pool betting, watching movies, and engaging in unnecessary gossip, among other things, rather than reading their books, and soon, they forget about academics and lose interest and focus on educational demands, which affects their learning capability in the long run. According to Wikipedia (2015), learning is the process of obtaining new or altering and reinforcing existing knowledge, behavior, skills, values, or preferences, and may require synthesizing diverse forms of information, and it is done under the auspices of the school.

According to Odubela (2012), successful covering of the course outline prior to the test results in effective learning or improved performance. When there is a strike, this is rarely achieved. Based on this, the researchers believe that disruptions in academic programs caused by strike action expose students to depression, frustration, and emotional and psychological trauma, as well as a lack of preparedness on the part of the learner or student and a loss of motivation, which leads to societal vices, unproductiveness, and a non-conducive learning environment in the country’s tertiary institutions. Recently, A.I.F.C.E. workers under the banner of COEASU went on strike for seven months over non-payment of migration and other demands, limiting academic activity and putting students into mandatory holidays where most of these afflictions were unavoidable. As a result, the purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of student strike action on academic achievement.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Universities, Colleges of Education, and Polytechnics, often known as the Ivory Towers, are considered as the basis of knowledge and intellectualism, as well as the most suited ground for the incubation of future leaders, all over the world.

However, in Nigeria during the last thirty years, the university system has seen unparalleled industrial unrest and more official attacks than any other social institution. According to statistics from the National University Commission (2002), the union (ASUU, and more recently COEASU) has gone on strike 23 times since 1992 to pursue its demands. Strikes, like other industrial conflicts, have far-reaching societal consequences. Many have suggested that individuals in control saw tertiary institutions as a burden to be exploited and abandoned. To change the impression, the union has embarked on several strike actions, the most recent of which involved the Colleges of Education and lasted for eight months. Now, more than a year later, there has been economic waste, delayed graduation, an unbalanced academic calendar, and a nonchallant attitude among staff and students, resulting in poor academic input and output and a lack of productivity in society and the country at large.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of industrial (strike) action on the academic performance of students in tertiary institutions, with particular reference to A.I.F.C.E Owerri.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Generally, the purpose of the study is to find out how strike action influences the academic performance of student in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Specifically it seeks to:

i.          Ascertain the extent to which strike action influences the academic performance of students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

ii.        Identify the causes of strike action by the various unions in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

iii.      Suggest possible solution to the incessant strike action in our tertiary institutions.

 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will inform stakeholders in the education sector on the extent to which frequent and extended strikes effect students’ academic programs at tertiary institutions. It will also help people understand why the union is on strike. This effort will urge students to use their time properly during the strike in order to avoid poor academic performance following the strike.

This approach will also benefit labor unions by assisting them in finding alternate ways to press their demands.

The government will also learn how to mitigate the negative impact of strike action on the educational sector and the economy as a whole.

 RESEARCH QUESTION

i.          To what extent does strike action influence the academic performance of students?

ii.        What are the causes of strike action in tertiary institutions in Nigeria?

iii.      What are the possible solutions to strike actions?

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study would examine the influence of industrial (strike) action on the academic performance of students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria with particular reference to Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education Owerri Imo State. This study will be carried out among the six schools within the College which includes; School of Social Science, School of Art, School of Natural Science, School of General Studies School of Education, School of Agric and vocational studies respectively.