Tertiary schools in Ogun have been having a covert fight with the state government over funding and pay, and the students are facing the brunt.
The state alone owns two universities, three polytechnics and several other colleges, and the governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has clearly stated that his government cannot continue to finance all these schools.
Last week, the academic staff at the state-owned Olabisi Onabanjo University went on strike over unpaid wages and alleged that the government had neglected the school. The strike is still on today.
A lecturer at the state-owned Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic also told Reporters anonymously, that the polytechnic often has trouble paying its own staff.
The lecturer said: “Amosun has cut the monthly subvention he should be paying to this polytechnic, and he’s threatened that if any school troubles him with protests, he’ll close down the school. Now in our polytechnic, management depends on students’ school fees to pay staff.
“So salaries are regular at the start of the session when students pay fees, but in the months during the second semester, the school runs out of money and then it becomes a struggle to even pay staff, much less develop the school. This is what we’ve been facing.”
While strikes disrupt their studies, students are also worried about the standard of education they are getting.
Odunayo, a 200l student at Olabisi Onabanjo University, said: “These strikes are just tiring. The university staff and the government are constantly slugging it out with each other, disrupting our studies with their conflicts. Yet it usually doesn’t change anything.
“The government is apparently not ready to spend more to develop the university, so the school charges us heavily on school fees. But in spite of that, we still don’t get to enjoy a smooth academic calendar or an improvement in the standard of education. That’s really bad.”
State governments normally pay a subvention to the schools they own to support the schools. This regular sum helps the schools pay staff and fund projects to maintain and develop the school. But the Ogun state government has been delinquent with its subventions.
About two years ago, Governor Amosun decided to merge some tertiary schools in the state to save money, but the move was resisted and since then, there has been a continuous face-off between the government and the staff unions in the state’s schools, usually disrupting academic work and leaving the students feeling despondent.
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| Front view of OOU, Ago Iwoye |
The state alone owns two universities, three polytechnics and several other colleges, and the governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has clearly stated that his government cannot continue to finance all these schools.
 |
| Front view of Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic. |
Last week, the academic staff at the state-owned Olabisi Onabanjo University went on strike over unpaid wages and alleged that the government had neglected the school. The strike is still on today.
A lecturer at the state-owned Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic also told Reporters anonymously, that the polytechnic often has trouble paying its own staff.
The lecturer said: “Amosun has cut the monthly subvention he should be paying to this polytechnic, and he’s threatened that if any school troubles him with protests, he’ll close down the school. Now in our polytechnic, management depends on students’ school fees to pay staff.
“So salaries are regular at the start of the session when students pay fees, but in the months during the second semester, the school runs out of money and then it becomes a struggle to even pay staff, much less develop the school. This is what we’ve been facing.”
While strikes disrupt their studies, students are also worried about the standard of education they are getting.
Odunayo, a 200l student at Olabisi Onabanjo University, said: “These strikes are just tiring. The university staff and the government are constantly slugging it out with each other, disrupting our studies with their conflicts. Yet it usually doesn’t change anything.
“The government is apparently not ready to spend more to develop the university, so the school charges us heavily on school fees. But in spite of that, we still don’t get to enjoy a smooth academic calendar or an improvement in the standard of education. That’s really bad.”
State governments normally pay a subvention to the schools they own to support the schools. This regular sum helps the schools pay staff and fund projects to maintain and develop the school. But the Ogun state government has been delinquent with its subventions.
About two years ago, Governor Amosun decided to merge some tertiary schools in the state to save money, but the move was resisted and since then, there has been a continuous face-off between the government and the staff unions in the state’s schools, usually disrupting academic work and leaving the students feeling despondent.
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