By Newnan Anthony Levey in Bo
Final year students of Njala University, one of Sierra Leone’s leading tertiary learning institutions, have called on the government to urgently engage their striking lecturers so that they can resume their examination.
The examination was halted as a result of industrial action by the lecturers who cite a number of concerns they say are affecting them and which the government is not seeking to address.
The Academic Staff Association (ASA) of Njala, in a press statement on Thursday, 27th August, announced the commencement of the strike action, citing a range of issues they say border on their welfare.
The Comprehensive Examination for students in the final year is a requirement to complete their Bachelor’s degree programs.
Patricia Koroma, a student in the school of Social Sciences, told Politico that if the government didn’t intervene immediately, it could have a “devastating” consequence on them, considering the fact that schools have been closed as a result of COVID-19. She is worried that they might even lose the pace for their examination.
“We have paid our fees to get the needed education. We have not committed any crime, but we have become disadvantaged by this strike action. We want government to intervene to ensure that this strike action does not go above a week because we will have to lose at the end of the day," she said, adding:
“We have studied to write our exams and if we have a long break, even the energy will be lost if ASA lifts their strike action.”
Alysious Smart, a student in the school of Environmental Sciences, Njala Campus, said that they were not expecting strike action at this time when they were taking their final examination. And Smart is worried that no one is saying anything to them.
“Since ASA started their strike action, nobody is talking to us. All offices are closed. We don't know when examination will continue. We want government to look into the welfare issues of the lecturers," he said.
He added that all the students writing to the comprehensive exam at Njala Campus are still around the campus hoping to continue their examination soon.
“Our fear now is we will finish eating our food stock while we are waiting to write the exams, and if we resume examination, most of us will suffer from hunger,” he added.
Mohamed Kamara, a student in the school of Education, noted that the strike action has already hurt them badly.
“We have prepared for too long for our exams, just at the end of examination, this strike action has come," he lamented.
Payment of end of retirement benefits dating back to 2014, payment of end of service benefits to deceased colleagues dating back to 2014, reduction of salaries of staff in the name of parity, condition of service negotiations put on hold for over six years, are just some of the issues bothering the striking lecturers, which they have insisted the government must address before they resume lectures.
Public Relations Officer 2 of the Njala University, Ayuba Koroma, told Politico that both the Deputy Vice Chancellors of the Njala and Bo campuses had engaged the Ministry of Tertiary and Higher Education on the concerns of the Academic Staff Association and that the Ministry had a discussion with them during which an agreement was reached to pay leave allowances to each staff while they study the general concerns raised by the staff association.
“The university is concerned about the strike action by ASA. The university will ensure that they look into their concerns, so that the students continue with their examination," Koroma said.
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