The impact of academic staff union of universities’ strikes on Nigerian students

Abstract

The incessant strikes in Nigeria’s public and private sectors have become an issue of concern to scholars and policy-makers because industrial peace or conflict impacts the social, political, and economic activities of a nation. Therefore, this study examined the impact of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strikes on students’ behavior in Nigeria using Choba as one of the host communities of the University of Port Harcourt, as a case study. The study employed a survey research design. A total of 400 questionnaires were administered and 370 were retrieved. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics-mean computation and standard deviation. Findings from the study show that ASUU strikes have a high negative impact on students’ behavior. This indicates that students bear the brunt of ASUU strikes as manifested in increased students’ stay on campus, increased drug abuse among students, increased students’ involvement in kidnapping and financial crimes among students, and reduced students’ academic performance. Keywords: ASUU; staff union; strike; students’ behavior; government; university.