[ti:Nigeria Universities reopen After Strike] [ar:Bob Doughty] [al:Education Report] [by:www.chinavoa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:01.22]this is the Education Report. [00:03.38]Public universities in Nigeria have reopened [00:08.67]after a nearly six-month long strike by teachers. [00:12.58]In the city of Bauchi, [00:15.39]teachers are now back in classrooms [00:17.72]at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University. [00:22.12]History lecturer Maimuna Sadiq attempts [00:28.43]to begin where she stopped teaching in June. [00:31.19]"We had treated three topics. [00:33.66]You can't remember? [00:37.85]So you mean you were not reading?" said Balewa. [00:40.66]Students at public universities across Nigeria [00:44.94]tell VOA they feel both happy and worry to be back. [00:50.07]"I am excited, apprehensive. [00:52.38]You know, exams is next month. [00:54.18]My project work is not completed. [00:56.12]I have a lot to do," one student stated. [00:57.56]"We have to rush the semester to end it early, [01:00.45]in order to make up the time [01:03.32]that we spent on the strike," another student added. [01:04.78]Teachers tell VOA it is the students [01:07.86]who lose because of the strike. [01:10.20]Repeated strikes can add months, even years, [01:14.74]to the time it takes to finish a study program. [01:18.16]A labor group, [01:20.02]the Academic Staff Union of Universities [01:23.92]suspended the strike in December. [01:26.47]Part of the deal that ended the strike [01:29.85]was a government promise to invest billions of dollars [01:34.49]each year in university buildings and equipment. [01:38.57]The money is to be spent during the next five years. [01:43.25]The government said that soon [01:46.38]25 percent of the nation's budget [01:49.88]will be spent on education. [01:52.27]The teachers and the government also agree [01:56.25]to change it in working conditions [01:58.88]and special allowances for those [02:01.76]in administrative positions. [02:03.86]But some teachers say, [02:06.60]the strike was really about pushing the government [02:10.28]to make Nigeria's universities better. [02:13.47]Laz Emetike is with Delta State University. [02:18.50]"It's for the benefit of all, [02:20.41]not a benefit of lecturers only." [02:23.11]He says improvements in the universities, [02:26.82]such as better science laboratories, [02:30.12]what let Nigeria compete with other parts of the world. [02:34.17]Countries throughout Africa, not just Nigeria, [02:38.56]are considering how to answer the exploding demand [02:43.15]for admission to universities. [02:45.79]These countries must also improve academic values [02:50.22]and requirements and find ways [02:52.95]to pay teachers enough to keep them. [02:56.21]Experts tell VOA [02:59.02]that Nigeria can not ignore this. [03:01.83]Hundreds of thousands of young students [03:05.68]pass college entrance exams each year [03:09.03]but many can not attend public universities [03:12.89]because there are not enough classrooms or teachers. [03:16.89]Nigeria's population is expected to increase [03:22.32]by 100 percent by the middle of this century. [03:26.30]University lecturers say [03:29.63]they will be watching to make sure [03:31.91]their schools get and effectively use the money [03:36.62]the government has promised. [03:38.44]But for now, [03:41.55]Nigerian Universities are filled with students [03:45.47]and that is a good thing. [03:47.87]And that's the Education Report for VOA Learning English. [03:54.54]I'm Bob Doughty.