Socio-Economic Rights and
Accountability Project, SERAP, has written to the United Nations (UN), urging
the body to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to reach an agreement with
leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to end the ongoing strike.
In an urgent appeal dated 28
December 2018 and signed by SERAP senior legal adviser, Bamisope Adeyanju, the
organisation said: “By failing to prevent and end the ongoing strike action by
ASUU, the Nigerian government has defied and breached the explicit requirements
of the right to equal access to higher education by Nigerian children and young
people, under article 13(2)(c) of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights.”
The appeal sent to Ms. Koumbou
Boly Barry, Special Rapporteur on the right to education and Professor Philip
Alston, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights argues that:
“The failure by the Nigerian government to reach an agreement with ASUU has
also implicitly made access to higher education a privilege of the rich and
well-to-do rather than a right of every Nigerian child and young person, as
students in private schools continue to attend classes while those in public
universities stay at home.
According to SERAP, “The failure
to end the ongoing strike action by ASUU is also a fundamental breach of the
right to higher education without discrimination or exclusion, as strike
actions continue to penalise economically disadvantaged parents who have no
means or lack the capacity to pay to send their children to private schools.
“The obligations of the Nigerian
government to create the conditions necessary for the enjoyment of the right to
education include to take preventive measures to address the root causes of
strike action by ASUU and to take steps to end any strike action in a timely
manner when it occurs.
“It is the responsibility of the
government to preserve and strengthen education as a public good and a matter
of public interest. Without the urgent intervention of the Special Rapporteurs,
the ongoing strike action by ASUU would continue and this would continue to
impede access to university education for the poor and marginalized.
“SERAP is concerned that Nigerian
students in public universities have suffered many years of academic disruption
as a result of the failure of successive Nigerian governments to address the
root causes of strike action by ASUU and to timely reach agreement to end
strike action and its devastating consequences on the right to equal and
quality higher education.
“Persistent strike actions in the
education sector have continued to cause disruption of classes and undermine
both the quality and duration of students’ education.
“We note that the right to strike
is one of the fundamental means available to workers to promote their
interests. However, we are seriously concerned that the failure by both the
Nigerian government and ASUU to make substantial progress in negotiations and
reach amicable settlement to end the unduly prolonged strike action has
undermined the right of Nigerian children and young people to higher education.
“The ongoing strike action by
ASUU in Nigeria if not urgently addressed would continue to have grave
consequences for the youth of our country as well as the country’s development
and progress as a whole.
“Universal access is an essential
prerequisite for the exercise of the right to education. But the failure by the
Nigerian government to end the strike action by ASUU has contributed to denying
students from disadvantaged backgrounds equal access to university education,
as these students are unable or lack the capacity to pay to access private
schools.
“This situation has aggravated existing
disparities in access to university education in the country, further
marginalizing economically disadvantaged parents and students.
“SERAP believes that providing
Nigerian children and young people equal access to higher education should be
the core public service functions of the Nigerian government. Providing public
schools ranks at the very apex of the function of a State.
“SERAP believes that equal access
of Nigerian children and young people to quality and uninterrupted education
including at the university level would contribute to producing citizens who
are fundamentally equal and people who actively participate in society. It
would enable people to enjoy the rights as well as fulfil obligations that are
associated with citizenship.”
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