cademic activities are yet to begin in public primary and secondary schools in Abia State following the indefinite industrial action by the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) over non-payment of salary arrears.
While primary teachers were protesting their three-month salary arrears, their secondary school counterparts have five months of unpaid salary arrears.
The Nation, which went round some of the schools, found that because of the ongoing West African Senior Secondary School Examination (WASSCE), pupils could not resume for the third term as activities remained paralysed.
Some of the schools our reporter visited included Constitution Crescent Primary School; Abayi Girls Secondary School; Okigwe Road Primary and Secondary Schools, Girls Secondary Commercial School; and Boys’ Technical College, among others.
Some of the teachers who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity accused the leadership of the union of undermining the needs and desires of their members by always conniving with the state government.
“We are on strike, but as you always know, Abia State NUT strikes are usually funny. The leadership of NUT here is made up of people who betray the interest of members. By the time they finish their meeting with government and some money exchange hands, they’ll force us to go back to work without any reason,” a source said.
“They’ve done it before and I don’t think this will be different. We as secondary school teachers received our salaries last since November. My colleagues in the primary schools last got theirs in January. Our leadership is the problem. They’re showing the government that Abia NUT is a toothless bulldog,” said another source.
Some of them said they were simply in school to conduct WASSCE, as they also consider the lot of the candidates.
Abia State Chairman of the NUT Chizobam Akparanta said he could not speak on the matter that was being deliberated upon by the union and the government.
But Abia State Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi, said the government was in talks with striking teachers to ensure that the contentious issues were resolved and students return to school as soon as possible.
“Teachers in Abia State schools are the best in Nigeria. We are proud of the work they are doing. They remain key contributors to our great state delivering the best results in WASSCE back to back, for three years under the present administration.”
He added that the government officials were engaged with the NUT representatives, and that the administration would continue to engage in human capacity development for teachers.
