Administrators and union leaders brainstorm on new leadership, policy formulation, decision making, communication, negotiation and mediation skills in response to dynamics of social-political changes, resource scarcity, anti-corruption campaign, Treasury Single Account and new social contracts. Towards peaceful industrial relations and sustained harmony in public service for effective and efficient service delivery.
The recent announcement by State Governors that they can no longer pay agreed minimum wage is a surprise to many. But many observers saw it coming. Before the announcement, educational establishments have been grappling with challenge of funding their operations, of reduced grants and allocations and pressure to increase fees and IGR.
Exam Ethics, an NGO dedicated to promotion of best practices in education, predicted that combustive confluence of socio-political change, collapse of oil prices and resultant resource scarcity, anti-corruption policy, Treasury Single Account and new social contracts will lead to thunderstorms of conflicts and disputes. Conflicts are bound to increase on account of competition generated by how, when and who gets what from available lean resources.
The scenario presents major challenge to administrators and union leaders. They must not only put on their thinking caps, they must also think outside the box. It calls for new conflict management blueprints in order to sustain peaceful industrial relations. The situation is particularly dicey for the education sector.
Mismanagement of previous conflicts in education led to lengthy disruption of academic calendars with disastrous consequences for standards and ethics. Another round of disruption of education calendar occasioned by mismanagement of impending conflicts will reverse the momentum of recovery and probably finish off the sector for good at last.
It is against this background that a group of stakeholders including Exam Ethics Marshals International, Joint Education Stakeholders Action Coalition (JESAC), Ethics Resource Centre and Safe School Academy joined forces to research and propose a new conflict management blueprint. The objective is to navigate impending conflicts in such a manner as to sustain industry peace in general and peaceful teaching and learning environment in particular. The focus is on new leadership, policy formulation, decision making, communication, negotiation and mediation skills for
The new blueprint will be presented as the central theme of discussion at the 2015 Exam Ethics Marshals International conference scheduled to hold at Nugget Hotel, Utako from 7th to 11th December, 2015. Negotiation and Mediation experts as well as experienced Union Leaders will make high impact presentations. The conference communiqué will guide administrators, managers and union leaders in their effort to navigate impending conflicts in a season of change, resource scarcity and new social contract.
Ike Onyechere, MFR
Founding Chairman,
Exam Ethics Marshals International.
