ASUU-FG Negotiation: Matters Arising

There is no gainsaying that the Academic Staff Union of Universities is actively fighting for the soul of Nigerian education. Over the years, ASUU's struggles have yielded much-needed funding for institutions and better welfare for academics. The battle might have been won but the war continues. The last industrial action by the union has resulted in the payment of backlogs of accrued earnings, funding for the Universities, the constitution of visitation panels, and many more wins.  

However, there are some pertinent issues that ASUU must bring to the negotiation table, as soon as the opportunity presents itself. In this brief article, I present a few of those issues.

(1) Article Processing Charges

Nigerian researchers operate in a global world. There are no separate rules for Nigerian academics when it comes to publishing. The publication process is described in this three-part series (here). Globally, there is increasing agitation for the Gold Access publishing model, where authors pay and everyone gets to read freely. Publishers expect institutions to pay for article processing charges. However, a lack of such facilities in Federal and State institutions has placed Nigerian researchers at a great disadvantage. The best we can get from publishers is a 50% waiver, which is still prohibitive. ASUU must as a matter of urgency bring this issue to the negotiation table. A framework where the Federal Government, either through TETFUND or ETF, pays for published articles with selected publishers without additional burden on researchers should be developed.

(2) Access to articles and books

Research thrives on the work of others. This makes access to already published articles and books very vital in the research cycle. One critical obstacle Nigerian researchers face is paywall when trying to access publications. For instance, in trying to download this article https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0219477521500073, you are faced with a charge of £35. Even with an upgraded pay, this charge is outrageous considering there is the need for access to many articles per year. ASUU needs to negotiate with the FG about access to articles for students and researchers within the country. The cost should not be borne by academics.