The National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Michael Olukoya, has condemned the Federal Government over its refusal to pay teachers in unity schools and other federal schools 27.5 per cent Teachers Allowance.
Olukoya, who also decried the dearth of teachers in schools, said state governments annually retire teachers without replacing them.
According to him, this has led to a decline in teacher-pupil ratio in the public schools.
He spoke during the 56th (5th Quadrennial) National Delegates’ conference of the NUT in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.
He frowned at the state governments for congratulating themselves for providing free primary and secondary education, saying the reality remained that the needed number of teachers to function in schools was not sufficient.
He explained that the pupil/students-teacher ratio has continued to increase and this development posed serious impediment to effective teaching and learning.
His words: “It is unfortunate that the Federal Government – leader in political authority and the one expected to show the light for others to follow, could not accord its teachers in Unity Schools and all other Federal agencies’ schools, the needed honour of paying them the 27.5 per cent Teachers Allowance, which came into effect since 2008.
“You are all witnesses to the magnitude of infrastructural decay and near absence of educational facilities in some of our schools. This adverse situation has gone a long way to compound the deplorable conditions of our public schools.
“This despicable condition lends a tacit support and stimulation for the growth of private schools, inspite of the enormous school fees charged by these private schools. One may not dig deep to uncover the fact that most of these schools are owned by key government functionaries past and present.
“The scenario creates a picture that it is a deliberate but tacit policy of the states to under develop the public schools to encourage their private enterprise to prosper, flourish and boom to the detriment of public schools and the common man.
“The NUT says ‘no’ to this subtle approach to privatisation of education. Education is a fundamental human rights and the government must do all within her reach to provide basic education as a social service to the citizenry without any inkling of discrimination as regard to social class, and religion.”
Olukoya appealed to federal and state governments to compensate the families of the 173 teachers (170 from Borno and 3 from Yobe states) who died in terror attacks.
Speaking at the conference, President Goodluck Jonathan reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to teachers’ training .
Jonathan, who was represented by Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, said without quality teachers, nation building would be difficult to achieve.
He described the theme of conference: “Changing Nigeria’s Fortune through Quality Teachers” as apt, saying it captured Nigerians’ aspirations.
Jonathan urged the union to always tow the line of peace and dialogue.
He said: “Undoubtedly, education holds the magic wand for national development and advancement basically due to the fact that without a well educated population, there is no way we can effectively and efficiently harness and mange our resources for socio-economic, geo-political and other institutional sustainable development.
“This is why we must lay emphasis on the training and education of our children and youths in whose hands the management of the future affairs of our country lies. These noble objectives cannot be achieved in any nation such as ours, without quality teachers as you have advocated in your theme for today’s event.
“This administration is mindful of this fact and education as the bedrock of civilisation forms part of the transformation agenda and other economic policies, programmes and projects currently being considered and implemented in the nation.
“In this regard, government have in the recent past re-inaugurated a lot of reforms with the sole aim of improving teachers’ skill and welfare to compliment its structural innovations. There eventually would result in better working conditions for teachers and better learning conditions for learners.”
The Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, urged teachers at the secondary and tertiary levels to place emphasis on Science, Mathematics, English and Technology.
Wike said: “It is important to also add the need to have, not just purely academic curriculum, but also training in soft curriculum like Critical Thinking Skills, Analytical Skills, Communication Skills, Interpersonal Relations Skills, and Customer Service Skills.
“We must make learning come alive, real ad fun through required, justifiable Fieldtrips and Career Days (integrated into the curriculum). It is important to mention here that parents must be constructively involved in the education of their children, through Parents Teachers Association PTAs, parenting classes, adult literacy programmes and faith-based organisation.”
