Nigeria Universities reopen After Strike

尼日利亚各大学在教师罢课后重新开放

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。

Public universities in Nigeria have reopened after a nearly six-month long strike by teachers.

尼日利亚的公立大学在教师们罢课近六个月后已重新开放。

In the city of Bauchi, teachers are now back in classrooms at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University. History lecturer Maimuna Sadiq attempts to begin where she stopped teaching in June.

在包奇市，阿布巴卡尔·塔法瓦·巴莱瓦大学的教师们现在已经重回教室。历史讲师萨迪克（Maimuna Sadiq）尝试重新开始她在六月份时停下来的教学。

"We had treated three topics. You can't remember? So you mean you were not reading?" said Sadiq.

萨迪克表示，“我们已经讲完了三个主题。你不记得了？意思是你们没读书？”

Students at public universities across Nigeria tell VOA they feel both happy and worry to be back.

尼日利亚公立大学的学生们对美国之音表示，他们对回来上课感觉喜忧参半。

"I am excited, apprehensive. You know, exams is next month. My project work is not completed. I have a lot to do," one student stated.

一个学生说，“我又高兴又担心。要知道下个月就考试，我的专题作业还没做完。我还有很多事情要做。”

"We have to rush the semester to end it early, in order to make up the time that we spent on the strike," another student added.

另一名学生说，“我们必须赶这个学期提前结束它，以弥补我们在罢课上耗费的时间。”

Teachers tell VOA it is the students who lose because of the strike. Repeated strikes can add months, even years, to the time it takes to finish a study program.

教师们告诉美国之音，罢课受损失的是学生们。重复罢课会让完成一项学习计划所需的时间增加数月甚至数年。

A labor group, the Academic Staff Union of Universities suspended the strike in December. Part of the deal that ended the strike was a government promise to invest billions of dollars each year in university buildings and equipment. The money is to be spent during the next five years.

大学学术人员工会这个劳工组织于十二月份暂停了罢课。结束这次罢课的部分协议包括政府承诺每年在大学校舍和设备上投资数十亿美元。这些钱将在未来五年花出去。

The government said that soon 25 percent of the nation's budget will be spent on education. The teachers and the government also agree to change in working conditions and special allowances for those in administrative positions.

政府表示，很快该国25%的预算将用在教育上。教师们和政府还同意在工作条件和行政岗位特殊津贴上做出改变。

But some teachers say, the strike was really about pushing the government to make Nigeria's universities better.

但一些教师表示，这次罢课实际上推动了政府让尼日利亚的大学变得更好。

Laz Emetike is with Delta State University. "It's for the benefit of all, not a benefit of lecturers only."

Laz Emetike就职于三角洲州立大学。他说，“大家都受益，而不仅仅是讲师们。”

He says improvements in the universities, such as better science laboratories, what let Nigeria compete with other parts of the world.

他说，各大学的改善，例如更好的科学实验室，使得尼日利亚可以和世界其它地区竞争。

Countries throughout Africa, not just Nigeria, are considering how to answer the exploding demand for admission to universities. These countries must also improve academic values and requirements and find ways to pay teachers enough to keep them.

不仅仅是尼日利亚，所有非洲国家都在考虑如何解决入读大学的紧迫要求。这些国家还必须提高学术价值和学术要求，并想法给教师们提供足够高的工资以留住他们。

Experts tell VOA that Nigeria can not ignore this. Hundreds of thousands of young students pass college entrance exams each year but many can not attend public universities because there are not enough classrooms or teachers. Nigeria's population is expected to increase by 100 percent by the middle of this century.

专家们对美国之音表示，尼日利亚不能忽略这点。每年数万名年轻学生通过大学入学考试，但很多人没法就读公立大学，因为没有足够的教室和教师。到本世纪中叶，尼日利亚人口预计将增加1倍。

University lecturers say they will be watching to make sure their schools get and effectively use the money the government has promised.

大学讲师们表示，他们将密切关注学校获得并有效使用这笔政府承诺的资金。

But for now, Nigerian Universities are filled with students and that is a good thing.

但就目前而言，尼日利亚各大学都被学生挤满了，这是一个好消息。

And that's the Education Report for VOA Learning English. I'm Bob Doughty.