The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT)

  • NUT urges Ondo state to recruit more teachers

    NUT urges Ondo state to recruit more teachers

    The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has appealed to the Ondo State Government to recruit more teachers to fill vacancies in public primary schools.

    Solomon Igbelowowa, NUT State Acting Secretary, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Akure that there was shortage of teachers in all the 18 local government areas.

    According to him, 500 teachers retire from the state teaching service every year, leaving many classrooms virtually empty.

    “Dearth of teachers is the greatest challenge facing educational system in the state, especially in public primary schools.

    “For the past 12 years, no single teacher was recruited to teach in our public primary schools.

    “We have a public primary school in Ondo State where there is only one teacher to 300 pupils at time.

    “How do you expect a teacher to cope with such situation?

    “With this, we are killing education and mortgaging the future of our pupils.

    “So, there is urgent need for government to recruit more teachers in the state now,’’ the secretary said.

    The NUT scribe said if pupils were not properly trained, they would grow up to engage in social vices that would be detrimental to the peace of the state.

    According to him, the menace of insurgency, militancy, ritual killings and armed robbery are perpetrated by the children who were not given proper education.

  • NUT, TRCN collaborate to register qualified teachers

    NUT, TRCN collaborate to register qualified teachers

    The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) says it is collaborating effectively with the the , to ensure the registration of all qualified teachers.

    The National President of NUT, Mr Michael Alogba-Olukoya, told the News Agency oTeachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN)f Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan that the NUT held a meeting with the council earlier in the month to fine-tune the process.

    He told NAN that the union was in support of the move by TRCN to register teachers and flush out non professional teachers from the classrooms by 2018.

    “The council has assured us that the registration will now be digital instead of filling of forms.

    “Everything can now be done in the comfort of your homes,” he said.

    The chairman also disclosed that the NUT, in collaboration with the TRCN, would soon begin to picket private schools which fail to conform with the Federal Government’s directive.

    He also explained that the exercise would help to monitor teachers and ensure that only qualified teachers would be in the education sector.

    Alogba-Olukoya said that the TRCN had enough personnel to ensure implementation of the exercise, adding that the council has  coordinators in every state of the country.

    Mr Gabriel Agbashi, Chairman, Nasarawa State Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), while commending TRCN for its resolve, observed that the alarming rate of non-professional teachers in the teaching job was “worrisome”.

    Mr Akeem Lasisi,  the Oyo state Chairman of ASUSS, said that  the union was in support of the move by TRCN to register teachers.

    “There is a need to register teachers all over the federation so as to know the number of teachers we are having and we are in support with the decision of TRCN to register teachers.

    “In 2001, TRCN registered teachers in Nigeria at the rate of N1,500 per teacher.

    “Teachers in the South- West part of the country massively registered in the exercise.

    “In 2003 again, we were told that the 2001 exercise was no longer valid as it was not approved by the Federal Government and another body was again set up.

    “We were told that those that registered in 2001 needed not to register because their names would be incorporated into that of 2003 exercise.

    “Later, we were told that the money we paid in 2001 will be refunded to the teachers so that we should register again in 2003.

    “Many of the teachers had already registered in 2003 and now you want to say that we should start paying annual subscription fees,” he said.

    Mr Bayo Babalola, the Principal, Tunyo Comprehensive College, Iyana-Iyesi, Ota, Ogun, however, expressed doubt over the successful implementation of the decision.

    “TRCN lacks the political will to implement the policy because they have been saying this for the past 10 years,” he said.

    Mr Waheed Olojede, Secretary of Nigeria Union of Teachers, Oyo State, has commended the decision of the Council to eliminate unregistered and non-professional teachers from teaching service starting from 2018.

    Olojede, who also doubles as the state Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said that the decision would eliminate quacks from teaching profession which is regarded as a noble profession.

    “The Federal Republic of Nigeria roll out an Act that establish the TRCN and every person that operates under the body must conform with it rules and regulations.

    “This implies that the proprietor of private schools must conform by recruiting qualified teacher and there should not be exemption for anybody,’’ he said.

    Malam Labaran Garba, Secretary-General, Niger Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), said that the ongoing registration of teachers by the TRCN would boost the quality education in Nigeria.

    “The ongoing registration will assist in flushing out quacks and unqualified teachers from the educational sector.

    “TRCN and NUT are working in synergy toward ridding the teaching profession of “strangers and tourists,” he said.
    Dr Mojeed Kolawole, a lecturer at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, expressed support for the TRCN on the exercise, saying it would ensure that standards were met.

    He also said while TRCN needed to eliminate quacks in the teaching profession, there was need for synergy among stakeholders in the education sector.

    ‘’It is not enough for the TRCN to work on elimination of quacks in the teaching profession, the rudiments of teaching has also been bastardised and must be restored,’’ he said.

    The Commissioner for Education in Ekiti, Mr Jide Egunjobi, told NAN that  the present administration had introduced a number of incentives such as local and foreign training to promote quality of education and boost teachers morale.

    Others include payment of rural teaching allowance to teachers who work in rural areas as well as payment of special allowance to teachers that teach core subjects such as Mathematics, English and the sciences.

    He disclosed that the state government had also commenced upgrading of infrastructure in all its schools.

  • Bayelsa govt. moves to avert primary school teachers strike

    Bayelsa govt. moves to avert primary school teachers strike

    The payment of April salary for primary school teachers in Bayelsa has averted a planned three-day warning strike by teachers in the state.

    The state chapter of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) had planned to proceed on a warning strike to press for payment of up to seven months’ salary arrears.

    Dr Agatha Goma, Bayelsa Commissioner for Local Government Administration, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa on Sunday that the ministry had met with the teachers union to avert the strike.

    Goma commended the primary school teachers for their patience and assured that the state government would implement all agreements reached with their union.

    She attributed the delay in the payment of the salaries to paucity of funds due to dwindling revenue as a result of economic downturn.

    The commissioner explained that the local government share of the Paris Club refunds was deployed to the payment of salaries of primary school teachers.

    According to her, as part of government demonstration of good faith, local council workers are now getting full salary as against half salaries paid last year.

    The commissioner said the state government would continue to work with the local authorities to find permanent solution to the lingering financial crisis in the councils.

    Goma said government was aware of the critical roles of teachers in the ongoing educational revolution in the state and would not toy with their welfare.

    “Teachers welfare is pivotal to Gov. Seriake Dickson’s revolution in the education sector. There is no deliberate effort to undermine teachers’ welfare.

    “The issues of half salary in 2016 and delays in payment arose because of the recession in the Nigerian economy.

    “But the teachers should be assured that government is concerned about their welfare and everything is being done to find a permanent solution to this challenge,” Goma said.

     

  • Bayelsa NUT threatens strike over 10 months salary arrears

    Bayelsa NUT threatens strike over 10 months salary arrears

    The Bayelsa chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), on Sunday threatened to commence a three-day warning strike from May 2, over unpaid nine-and-a-half months salary backlog.

    The NUT, in a communique signed by its Chairman, Mr Kala-Ama Tonpre and Secretary, Mr Johnson Hector, said the union took the decision after its Executive Council meeting held on Saturday in Yenagoa.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the NUT in Bayelsa had embarked on a strike which shut public schools in Bayelsa for six weeks at the beginning of the 2016/2017 academic session in September 2016 over unpaid salaries.

    The union said it also resolved that the state government should urgently pay the salaries it owed primary school teachers to bring them at par with other civil servants in the state.

    The NUT also called on the government to take over the funding and management of primary education without attaching conditions to it.

    The union further asked the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the Post Primary Schools Board to implement the 2013 and 2015 promotions and to conduct the 2016 exercise without delay.

    It appealed to the government to involve other banks in the payment of secondary school teachers’ salaries instead of giving the mandate to only the Sterling Bank.

    The union also urged the government to take care of the cost of bank transaction to reduce excess deductions on its members’ accounts.

    NUT implored the government to fill vacancies created by retired and deceased teachers by employing qualified personnel and government should also begin the payment of N18, 000 minimum wage arrears to teachers.

     

  • Bayelsa teachers threaten strike over unpaid salaries 

    Bayelsa teachers threaten strike over unpaid salaries 

    The Bayelsa State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Saturday, threatened to commence a three-day warning strike from May 2nd over unpaid nine and half month salaries.

    The NUT in a communique signed by its Chairman, Kala-Ama Tonpre and Secretary, Johnson Hector, said it took the decision after its Executive Council meeting.

    The union said it also resolved that the state government should urgently pay the monthly full salaries it owed primary school teachers to bring them at par with other civil servants in the state.

    NUT also called on the government to take over the funding and management of primary education without attaching conditions to it.

    The union further asked the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the Post Primary Schools Board to implement the 2013 and 2015 promotions and to conduct the 2016 exercise without delay.

    It appealed to the government to involve other banks in the payment of secondary school teachers’ salaries instead of allowing only the Sterling bank to conduct the transactions.

    The union also urged the government to take care of the cost of bank transaction to reduce excess deductions on its members’ accounts.

    NUT implored the government to fill vacancies created by retired and deceased teachers by employing qualified personnel adding that government should begin the payment of N18,000 minimum wage arrears to teachers.

     

  • NUT directs teachers to register with Council

    The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has directed its members to register with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria to entrench professionalism in the teaching profession.

    The NUT National President, Mr Micheal Olukoya, gave the directive in a message to the 6th Quadrennial (11th) State Delegates Conference of the NUT in Kotangora, Niger on Tuesday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two-day conference is tagged: “Improving Teachers’ Quality, Enhancing our Educational Standards’’.

    Represented by the Borno Chairman of NUT, Mr Bulama Abiso, the NUT national president advised teachers to identify with the professional body of the union so as to obtain the teaching license.

    Olukoya said that the registration process would commence in May with a minimum of National Certificate of Education as a requirement for registration.

    He said that the registration programme was geared toward improving professionalism among teachers in the country.

    Olukoya warned that those who failed to register within the specified period would be made to sit for an examination as part of the criteria to qualify them for the registration.

    He appealed to the Federal Government to fully implement the minimum wage of teachers so as to improve the standards of education and living.

     

  • Niger NUT demands immediate payment of  pension, gratuity

    The Niger Chapter of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has demanded the immediate payment of pension of retired teachers in the state.

    The NUT Chairman in the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Umar, made the request at the opening of the Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the union in Kotangora on Tuesday.

    He said that most of the teachers who retired two to three years were yet to be paid their pensions and gratuity by the state government.

    According to him, the situation has forced some of them to turn to street beggars to survive while others have died.

    Umar said the state government has no reason to keep the teachers in such pitiable condition and urged it to immediately settle the entitlement of retired teachers.

    The NUT chairman also called on the Ministry for Education and that of Local Government to hasten the implementation of the promotion of teachers in primary and post primary schools.

    He said that such gesture would boost teachers’ morale and ensure effective and efficient service delivery.

    The NUT chairman urged the government to employ more qualified teachers to fill in existing vacancies created by those who had left the service.

    Umar also advised the government to procure adequate instructional materials for schools to achieve the desire of transforming the education sector.

    He disclosed that the union had spent N188 million to acquire landed property to shore up its income and strengthen the economic status of its members.

    The chairman commended the state government for its plan to establish Teachers Development Institute, saying such move would restore the lost glory of the teaching profession.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report that the delegates conference, has as its theme, `Improving Teachers Quality, Enhancing our Educational Standards.’

    The guest speaker, Alhaji Yabagi Alfa, Registrar, College of Education Minna, who delivered a keynote address on `Improving Quality, Enhancing Our Educational Standard’, described education as a vehicle for national development.

    He said that education was the biggest industry that touches the fabric of human endeavors and an investment for the nation to develop its economy, political and human resources.

    According to him, in spite of its importance, education will only deliver the desired results if there are quality teachers.

    He pointed out that no education system rises above the quality of its teachers, noting that the quality of teachers determines the quality of educational system of any nation.

    The Registrar added that teacher education was key to quality educational system and nation building.

    “The educational system rotates around the teacher, teachers are the hub of any educational system.

    “When education is given to the people, there is hope for proper skilled and knowledgeable workforce”, he added.

    He identified factors responsible for poor quality education to include; ill-equipped and untrained teachers, very poor learning environment, congestion in classroom, non availability of instructional materials.

    Others were poor supervision and management of the system and poor resumeration of teachers.

    Alfa said to improve teachers quality and enhance the educational system, government must equip teachers with adequate and appropriate professional skills to become excellent practitioners.

    He said government should also improve teacher standard by investing in teacher training and provision of instructional materials.

    The Registrar described as ridiculous, situations where untrained and unqualified teachers were given preference in schools as against qualified teachers who were left to roam the streets looking for job.

    He called for sponsorship of teachers in long term in-service training so as to improve their professional competence.

    Alfa urged government to make teaching a life time career, by providing opportunities for continuous growth in the service.

    According to him, poor standard of education in the country is largely due to irregular and poor salary and allowances, poor physical environment, lack of prospect and stagnation.

    He advised the NUT to promote competence anf guarantee professional conduct of their members, so as to raise the standard of the teacher and the education sector.

     

  • Bauchi NUT says no proof of immoral act levelled against some teachers

    Bauchi State Council of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) said on Friday that it had no proof of acts of immorality committed by teachers of some private schools as alleged by the state government.

    Chairman of union, Mr Danjuma Saleh told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that investigations conducted by the union casted doubts on the evidence provided by key actors.

    “Based on our investigations, it is doubtful if really these teachers committed such offence because the sixth year student showed an open place when asked to show the scene of the crime (alleged rape and immoral act).

    “Doctors report conducted on the girl shows that her virginity is intact and was not tempered with.

    “Investigations on the second case where a lady was said to have displayed immoral act during a party organised by one of the school, shows that the said lady was not a student of that school,” Saleh said.

    He said proper and exhaustive investigations were not conducted by the relevant authorities before the two schools were shut over the incidents.

    The chairman however said that the union was not trying to defend its member blindly, but only urging for fairness in the course of handling the matter.

    He advised that in future in future, such cases be forwarded to the right organs of the Ministry of Education to handle.

    NAN recall that the state government had recently shut two private schools in the state, namely Harvard International Secondary School, Federal Low Cost and ANS Kings and Queens Secondary School, all in Bauchi , over alleged  immoral act by some students and teachers

     

  • Taraba: NUT urges members to maintain law, order

    Alhaji Jauro Mafindi, the Chairman of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Taraba  on Tuesday advised  union members to maintain law and order in all their endeavours.

    Mafindi said this at a press conference in Jalingo while reacting to the decision by some teachers to embark on a protest over non-payment of salaries without informing the leadership of the union.

    He said though teachers had the right to protest non-payment of their salaries, due process should be followed.

    “To be frank with you, nobody officially informed me about the decision to embark on protest against the non-payment of our members’ salaries.

    “As a matter of fact, the strike was unnecessary because all the said complaints had already been articulated by us and sent to the appropriate authorities.

    “So if they had contacted us, we would have advised them to exercise patience because last Thursday, government had started paying some teachers as a result of our efforts.

    “Therefore, I  am appealing to all my members to be orderly in all their dealings because it is only when we are coordinated that we can achieve our collective objectives,” he said.

    On the claim by the state government that it had paid all outstanding salaries of workers, Mafindi said the government was only “playing to the gallery.’’

    “That was a political statement because the state government had stopped paying teachers’ salaries since Oct. 2016.

    “And even for the few teachers they started paying last Thursday, they have not completed the payment.

    “And of course there is the case of some workers who have been wrongly captured in the list of teachers. These people have also not been paid,” he said.

    Angry teachers had stormed Taraba House of Assembly on Monday to protest the non-payment of their eight months salaries.

     

  • Bayelsa teachers meet, insist on strike

    Bayelsa teachers meet, insist on strike

    The Bayelsa State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has called on all public primary and secondary school teachers in the state to continue observing the strike declared by the union.

    Teachers have been on strike since the resumption of the new academic session to protest unpaid arrears of salaries and other unfulfilled obligations of the government.

    It was gathered that the NUT had an emergency congress on Monday and resolved that the industrial action should continue.

    The body called on the teachers to disregard the directive given by the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) that the teachers should resume work.

    The state Chairman of the NUT, Mr. Kalama Tonpre, alleged that the ASUSS might have been compromised and called on the teachers to stay at home until the NUT would call off the strike.

    Kalama also called on members of the public to disregard the allegation by the state’s Commissioner for Information that the union had been politicised.

    He, however, said the commissioner’s position was his personal opinion which did not represent the standpoint of the state government.

    But the state government, yesterday, assured the teachers of prompt payment of their salaries and allowances and appealed to them to call off their strike.

    The Commissioner for Education, Mr. Markson Fefegha, gave the assurance during a one day workshop on the preparation of monthly payment vouchers and nominal rolls held at the DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall,Yenagoa.

    Fefegha said the preparation of vouchers in line with the present administration’s policy on transparency to stop the sharp practices perpetrated by some unscrupulous elements in the system.

    He said the seminar would assist in addressing the issue of voucher preparation to ease the payment process adding that the Governor Seriake Dickson-led government was passionate about the teaching profession.

    He said: “I am sure that most of you have received the two halves and we are working assiduously so that by next week you would receive your other month salary so that you would not only be at par but will be ahead of other civil servants in the state”.

    Also speaking, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, appreciated the principals for their cooperation and urged them to prepare an all-inclusive payroll.

    He scored the government high in educational transformation and urged to safeguard the infrastructure built by the government.