University students, under the aegis of National Association of University Students (NAUS), yesterday, urged the Federal Government to fast-track resumption processes from the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and review the curriculum of universities in line with the current reality.
In a statement made available to The Guardian, in Ibadan, by the Oyo State Chairman of Campus Monitoring Committee (CMC) of NAUS, Shittu Ridwan, the union said: “First, we appreciate all authorities who have contributed towards putting to rest the prevalent industrial action, which has been militating against the successful running of the country’s educational sector. However, for these efforts to have a holistic effect, our association has decided to put forth some of the hardships facing Nigerian students.
“Fast-tracking of resumption proceeding; it saddens our hearts to assert that we have lost a handful of students with promising futures to death since the inception of this strike. So, we implore the Federal Government and ASUU to work towards bringing us back to school before the end of October 2022.
“Second, eligibility of service; Section 2 of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Act states categorically that once you graduate, you are supposed to make yourself available for mobilisation for NYSC. To be eligible to participate in the compulsory one-year service, a graduate must be below or not above the age of 30 years upon graduation, or else he/she will be given a Certificate of Exemption, which is also equivalent to the NYSC Discharge Certificate.
“For these reasons, we demand that the Federal Government makes policies that will ensure graduates serve without an age barrier because the effects of strike actions on students bring delays in our academic. A medical or law student who gains admission at age 22, faced with an indefinite strike, has been put on the disadvantageous side. This, we consider, an injustice, and we implore the Federal Government to review this clause.
“Third, revision of Academic Curriculum of Tertiary Institution: It’s no more news that Nigeria is regarded as the giant of Africa, yet its current academic curriculum is running short of some essentiality of this dispensation. As the saying goes, nothing is constant in life except change. It is high time students are imbibed into the culture of selfless leadership and active citizenship.
“In addition, the projects of final year students should be innovations or inventions that can add value and advantage to the institution or the country, rather than merely writing or wasting resources and time. We want our projects to be practical.
