EFFECT OF LECTURERS’ STRIKE ACTION ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY LOKOJA KOGI STATE

1.1 Background of the Study Investing in university education is a vital component of national development efforts all around the world. Nations now rely increasingly on knowledge, ideas, and skills developed via university research. Significantly, education is a way of life that occurs continuously in many communities. It is the most significant human resource investment, and it may be earned effectively by a good attitude toward its rudiments, which include acceptable attendance and completion of acts / processes (Stages). It might be planned or spontaneous, observed or unseen, but it is always impacted by external and internal stimuli, such as strike action by stakeholders, whether academic or non-teaching. Academic personnel are the teachers who carry out the school curriculum and lectures. They are knowledgeable professors who help students develop their character. The academic staff is the heart of higher education. They are the cornerstone and backbone of higher education. The academic staff decides the quality of higher education institutions as well as appropriate answers to the nation's economic and social concerns (Ogunode & Adamu, 2021). Academic staff members are responsible for lecturing, preparing lecture notes, sourcing instructional materials, assessing students through continuous assessment and examination, setting exam questions, marking the answer sheet, supervising students' research work, particularly theses and dissertations, and calculating grade points. Academic staff conducts research at various levels, discusses their findings, and contributes to the advancement of knowledge in higher education institutions (Ogunode & Adamu, 2021). Academic employees at Nigerian universities founded a union called the Academic Staff Union of Universities to achieve their goals of improving their welfare and fighting for their rights (ASUU). The union was established in 1969. Abiodun-Oyebanji (2015) and Iyayi in Arikewuyo (2009) identified the following principles as guiding ASUU as a union: integrity, transparency and accountability, professionalism, objectivity, and hardworking, courage, sacrifice, and total commitment, internal democracy, teamwork, and group solidarity, patriotism, anti-imperialism, and working-class solidarity. According to Abiodun-Oyebanji (2015) in Kazeem (2009), Nigerian universities were repositories of all that could be regarded exceptional in academia up to the early eighties (of the twentieth century), with competent and enough academic personnel and acceptable working circumstances. Furthermore, financing for infrastructure and research was relatively affordable at the time. As a result, the whole Nigerian university system was acknowledged and appreciated for this. The above position provided a visual representation of Nigerian institutions in their early stages. This great description has been completely ruined over time (Abiodun-Oyebanji, 2015). Abiodun-Oyebanji (2015) also stated that the Academic Staff Union of Universities looks to be the champion for the struggle to combat and repair the ever-diminishing quality of Nigerian university education (ASUU). It is no longer news that ASUU, as an academic organisation, has engaged in a succession of strike actions throughout the years. According to Abiodun-Oyebanji (2015) and Onoyeme (2012), the country is like a cycle. Since 1996, university teachers have gone on strike almost every year. They may label it as a warning, indefinite or total strike. University lecturers in Nigeria appear to have built for themselves an image of a group whose primary aim is to strike, to the point that they appear to have lost public sympathy through the umbrella organisation, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Strike action is the refusal of workers to work in protest of bad service or working conditions. Strikes are a social problem similar to corruption in that they consume students' time, making it impossible for students to be fully and properly 'baked' within the specified educational time period. As a result, 'products' are produced that are lacking in both character and learning. 1.2 Statement of the Problem The ongoing strike activities in Nigerian public institutions grabbed the attention of both local and foreign scholars, who conducted several studies on the subject. The Academic Staff Union of Universities' (ASUU) constant strike action has unwittingly damaged university students' academics; it generally poses a lot of obstacles to their study length, performance in examinations, and final grading. Students are kept away from school for extended periods of time; most are entirely cut off from academics since settings at home may not support constructive and intense intellectual practise. Students and parents get irritated due to the protracted wait for school to resume, which is nowhere in sight. While at home doing nothing, some kids become involved in activities other than academics. They are easy targets for criminal actions such as armed robbery, abduction, and rape in some situations. As a result, they have become a threat to Nigeria's society, peace, and order. Although various experts have investigated the impact of strike activities on students at Nigerian public colleges, Ogunode, Ugochukwu, and Jegede (2022), for example, investigated the effects of strike actions on Nigerian Higher Education Goals and Programs. Lawan and Ogunode (2021) also explored the meaning, causes, impact, achievement, and way ahead of strike activities in Nigerian higher education institutions. Odim, Annastashia, and Solomon (2018) investigated how the strike affected the management and planning of educational activities in Nigerian institutions. However the extent to which ASUU strikes affects students academic performance, Based on this research gap, 1.3 Objective of the Study The overall aim of this study is to critically examine the effect of strike action of lecturer on the academic performance of students in Federal University Lokoja Kogi State. Hence, the study will be channeled to the following specific objectives; 1. Ascertain the prevalence of strike among lecturers in Federal Universities. 2. Investigate the factors influencing the strike action of lecturers in Federal Universities. 3. Determine the effects of strike action of lecturers on students academic performance in Federal University Lokoja Kogi State. 4. Determine the effectiveness of the Government in the management of lecturers strike action in Federal Universities. 1.4 Research Questions This study will be guided by the following questions; 1. What is the prevalence of strike among lecturers in Federal Universities? 2. What are the factors which influences the strike action of lecturers in Federal Universities? 3. What is the effects of strike action of lecturers on students academic performance in Federal University Lokoja Kogi State? 4. How effective is the Nigerian Government in the management of lecturers’ strike action in Federal Universities? 1.5 Research Hypothesis o1: Lecturers trike action has no significant effect on the students academic performance in Federal Universities. Ho1: Lecturers trike action has a significant effect on the students academic performance in Federal Universities. Ho2: The Nigerian Government is not effective in the management of lecturers’ strike action in Federal Universities. Ho2: The Nigerian Government is effective in the management of lecturers’ strike action in Federal Universities. 1.6 Significance of the Study Findings of this research work will be useful to policy makers for future planning in tackling the menace by reducing the incessant strike actions to the barest minimum. The study will also be useful to students in tertiary institutions by enlightening them on how they can cope with the unfavorable strike actions thereby ensuring excellent performance even with the occurrence of strike actions by the various labor unions in the university. The study will be significant to the state and federal governments who will appreciate that their inability to implement the joint decisions reached have serious implications for the learning effectiveness of the students and that it has been a source of dispute in the university system. The study will also benefit labour union (ASUU) as they will understand that even though their demands are imperative, in view of the economic realities, must consider the lean resources of the government and the position of management and students before embarking on strike under a democratic setting 1.7 Scope of the Study The overall aim of this study is to critically examine the effect of strike action of lecturer on the academic performance of students in Federal University Lokoja Kogi State.The study intends to carry out the research using the Descriptive design using the convenience sampling technique while the questionnaire will be the major instrument of data collection in this study.The Nigerian universities have encountered some worst problems in the history of trade union (ASUU) Strike. The primary aim of the study is to examine the perception of an average university student on strike actions by labour unions in the university including Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU);Investigate the factors influencing the strike action of lecturers in Federal Universities, Determine the effects of strike action of lecturers on students academic performance in Federal University Lokoja Kogi State and Determine the effectiveness of the Government in the management of lecturers strike action in Federal Universities. 1.8 Limitation of the Study Like in every human endeavour, the researcher encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size. More so, the researcher simultaneously engaged in this study with other academic work. As a result, the amount of time spent on research will be reduced. 1.9 Definition of Terms Industrial Relations: A tripartite relationship involving three parties namely: - the owner of work, the employees or their representatives and government agency for the purpose of setting job rules and regulations. Strike action: This is what happens when a group of employees conduct a work stoppage which will affect the condition of the job generally. Performance: the accomplishment of a given task measured against preset known standards of accuracy and completeness Academic Performance: how well a student is accomplishing his or her task and studies.