ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF UNIVERSITIES STRIKES AND EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN BENUE STATE UNIVERSITY, MAKURDI

This study examined academic staff union strikes and educational development at Benue State University, Makurdi. The specific objectives of the study include: examination of the causes of ASUU strikes in Benue State University, Makurdi; the nexus between ASUU strikes and educational development in Benue State University, Makurdi; and the role the government has played in resolving ASUU strikes in Benue State University, Makurdi. The study made use of survey methodology, and questionnaires were adopted as the main instrument of data collection. Theoretically, the study adopted conflict theory as its framework of analysis. Findings of the study revealed that Benue State University, Makurdi, has witnessed incessant ASUU strikes over the years. These incessant strike actions have over the years impacted negatively on employees' productivity and impeded effective service delivery in Benue State University, Makurdi. The most explicit impact of ASUU strikes on the workers is the loss of productivity. ASUU strikes force workers to stay away from work, resulting in a loss of productivity. Related to productivity is the loss of output. This is because caesurae of productivity culminate in loss of output. Also, it was discovered that the incessant strikes in Benue State University, Makurdi have in no small measure contributed to low-quality graduates and the distortion of the academic calendar, so that students and their parents can no longer determine or know when their wards will be graduating from school. There is no doubt that the incessant strike actions at Benue State University, Makurdi, have resulted in poor performance of the institution. The study recommended, among others, that the government and the management of Benue State University, Makurdi should ensure that they adequately consult academic staff on any issue that affects them and try as much as possible to address such issues quickly to avoid the reoccurrence of the ASUU strike in order to enhance educational development in university.