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.

Publish or Perish: The Process

"Publish or perish" in the academics originates from the fact that without publishing, researchers will not get promoted.   Nigerian researchers have three core duties: research, teaching and community service.  Publishing entails creating a novel idea, investigating the idea through analysis, getting the results accepted by your peers in the field.

What are the processes involved in publishing and how does it translate to promotion for researchers?  Let's start with the publishing process.

The Publishing Process

 After a researcher has conceived an idea, investigated the concept through "research" and reached a conclusion, a report of the entire process is written as a manuscript. This manuscript is sent to a Journal .  A journal can be part of a large publishing enterprise, an independent body, owned by a national or international association or an academic institution or unit within it.  The Editor, who oversees the affairs of the Journal (sometimes with the help of associate editors), decide whether the manuscript conforms to the journal template, fit into the journal's objective and focus, and of significant standards to merit publishing.  If he is satisfied, the manuscript is sent to reviewers, whose duties include scrutinizing the manuscript and proffering suggestions and corrections.  The reviewing process can be single blind, double blind, or open peer-review.   This process can take between one month to a few years, depending on several factors.  The manuscript can be rejected or sent back for minor/major corrections.  When the reviewers are satisfied with the revisions done on the manuscript, it will be accepted for publication.  Sometimes, we refer to this final product as paper.  A conference paper is based on presentations at a conference.  Academics also publish monographs, book chapters, books, and technical reports.

The Promotion Process

Nigerian Universities have similar promotion criteria and process.  The promotion process begins at the Department with the distribution of the Annual Performance Evaluation Form (APER FORM).  It is on this form you list your teaching, research and other activities for the period under consideration.  All your papers or publications, with the recent ones marked, are listed on this form.  An internal reviewer is appointed to consider your submission against a set of benchmarks.  Points are awarded for each of your publications which are then used in deciding whether you qualify for promotion or not.  The benchmarks vary from institution to institutions.  Some institutions require that the Journal volume must not be less than 40.  There is a limited number of articles you can publish in a volume of a journal and the journal itself.  There is a minimum number of articles for which you must be the first or sole author. Furthermore, there is a limit to the number of articles you published in the year of promotion.  A few institutions have blacklisted journal articles published in selected countries or even publishers.  Almost all institutions require that you have at least three publication since your last promotion. After the internal review, your application will be considered at the faculty and university level.  This process requires making lots of copies of your applications and publications. All the forms of publication have different points assigned to them.

For junior staff (Assistant Lecturer to Lecturer I), the University Appointments and Promotion Committees forward their recommendations to the Vice Chancellor.  However, for senior cadres (Senior Lecturers to Professors), copies of their publications are sent to three national and international reviewers.  Your promotion at this point depends on the report of these reviewers.

The challenges with these process is discussed in the article Publish or Perish: The Problems