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From VOA Learning English, |
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this is the Education Report. |
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Public universities in Nigeria have reopened |
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after a nearly six-month long strike by teachers. |
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In the city of Bauchi, |
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teachers are now back in classrooms |
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at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University. |
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History lecturer Maimuna Sadiq attempts |
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to begin where she stopped teaching in June. |
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"We had treated three topics. |
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You can't remember? |
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So you mean you were not reading?" said Balewa. |
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Students at public universities across Nigeria |
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tell VOA they feel both happy and worry to be back. |
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"I am excited, apprehensive. |
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You know, exams is next month. |
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My project work is not completed. |
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I have a lot to do," one student stated. |
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"We have to rush the semester to end it early, |
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in order to make up the time |
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that we spent on the strike," another student added. |
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Teachers tell VOA it is the students |
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who lose because of the strike. |
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Repeated strikes can add months, even years, |
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to the time it takes to finish a study program. |
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A labor group, |
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the Academic Staff Union of Universities |
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suspended the strike in December. |
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Part of the deal that ended the strike |
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was a government promise to invest billions of dollars |
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each year in university buildings and equipment. |
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The money is to be spent during the next five years. |
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The government said that soon |
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25 percent of the nation's budget |
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will be spent on education. |
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The teachers and the government also agree |
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to change it in working conditions |
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and special allowances for those |
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in administrative positions. |
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But some teachers say, |
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the strike was really about pushing the government |
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to make Nigeria's universities better. |
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Laz Emetike is with Delta State University. |
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"It's for the benefit of all, |
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not a benefit of lecturers only." |
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He says improvements in the universities, |
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such as better science laboratories, |
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what let Nigeria compete with other parts of the world. |
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Countries throughout Africa, not just Nigeria, |
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are considering how to answer the exploding demand |
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for admission to universities. |
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These countries must also improve academic values |
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and requirements and find ways |
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to pay teachers enough to keep them. |
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Experts tell VOA |
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that Nigeria can not ignore this. |
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Hundreds of thousands of young students |
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pass college entrance exams each year |
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but many can not attend public universities |
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because there are not enough classrooms or teachers. |
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Nigeria's population is expected to increase |
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by 100 percent by the middle of this century. |
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University lecturers say |
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they will be watching to make sure |
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their schools get and effectively use the money |
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the government has promised. |
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But for now, |
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Nigerian Universities are filled with students |
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and that is a good thing. |
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And that's the Education Report for VOA Learning English. |
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I'm Bob Doughty. |