Eight Months On: Benue primary schools remain shut
Worse than the activities of the Boko Haram group, an eight-month old strike action by primary school teachers in Benue State is doing great damage to the future of education not just in the state, but Nigeria at large. Johnson Babajide reports
As primary and post primary schools in the country resume the last lap of 2013/2014 academic session, there is no hope for public primary schools in Benue State as the teachers continue their indefinite strike action embarked upon about eight months ago.
Investigation conducted by Tribune Education revealed that government is yet to meet the demands of the striking teachers who are demanding the implementation of minimum wage.
Consequently, a group under the aegis of Network of Concerned Parents(NCP) has accused the state government of insensitivity to the plight of the out of school pupils of the state.
According to a statement issued recently and made available to the Tribune Education in Makurdi, the acting chairman of the group, Mr John Aondugu said “the prolong industrial action by the aggrieved teachers was taking its toll on the lives of innocent children in public primary schools in the state.
The group decried the failure of government and the striking teachers to come to a compromise in the lingering dispute stressing that “this goes a long way to show that our leaders have suddenly forgotten the responsibilities they owe the upcoming generation of our state.’
“It is inexcusable for a government to shut down primary schools for close to seven months over disputes with teachers and we are all carrying on as if all is well with our state.”
“It is a clear demonstration of arrogance, and outright insensitivity to the plight of our children and wards who have been at the receiving end of this show of strength by the government,” he said.
Speaking on the protracted strike, the Special Adviser to the Benue State Governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Solomon Wombo said that the state government does not have the financial capacity to meet the demands of the striking teachers.
He told newsmen that for government to implement the minimum wage to the 29, 000 primary school teachers as demanded would amount to borrowing to run government, stressing that the wage bill of (NULGE) if added to the demand of the teachers the wage bill is over N4billion monthly while he hinted that the average revenue accrued to local government from federation account monthly stands at a little over N3billion.
According to him, ‘there is no way we can implement the minimum wage to primary school teachers because of our lean resources, when we computed the wage bill of striking primary school teachers based on minimum wage, it amounted to N2.2 billion and if we are to add this to salary of local government workers which stand at N1.9 billion that means we will be talking of N4billion and above, whereas what is accrued to local government council areas in the state from federation account is on the average of N3.4 billion monthly’.
“So where do you expect us to make up for the difference, we have tried our best by adding something to their salary yet they rejected it, as I am talking to you now, the primary school teachers salary is deposited in the bank, anytime they are ready to resume, we will pay them all the arrears.
“At the advent of this administration, government increased teachers’ salaries by 40 per cent and we also went ahead to pay them 27.5 per cent increment in salaries which brought their wage bill to N1.1billion and any further increment will double that figure.”
Wombo assured that the state government was exploring every avenue to ensure that the strike was called off.
The state government in addressing the issue once told newsmen of its plan to review downward the salary of civil servants in the state so as to accommodate the demands of the primary school teachers.
Governor Gabriel Suswam who disclosed this to newsmen stated that his administration was coerced in implementing the new minimum wage to civil servants which he described as the highest in the country, adding that, “at that time we were also having excess crude oil money, so we thought that the situation will continue like that, hence, the approval for that huge minimum wage.
“For instance, a director receiving N50,000.00 was moved to N150,000 while permanent secretary earning N150,000.00 was jerked up to N400,000.00, adding that with the primary school teachers insisting on full implementation of minimum wage so that they can be at par with civil servants in the state, the best option for us is to review the salary of civil servants downward to be able to accommodate primary school teachers”.
Consequently, the state government set up a committee made up of directors to fine tune the appropriate salary structure to workers in the state.
But Tribune Education reliably gathered that the government’s plan is receiving resistance from labour as they have told the governor not to attempt reducing the workers’ salaries or he incurs the wrath of workers in the state.
State chairman of Nigeria Union of Teachers, Comrade Godwin Anya who spoke to Education Tribune on phone on Tuesday said that his members would remain at home until government meets their demands.
When asked of the plight of the pupils considering the fact that they have stayed for eight months at home, Anya said, “it is not the number of months on strike that is important but to ensure that their demands are met”, adding that “inasmuch as they are concerned about the future of the pupils, we will not compromise our demand”.
He told Tribune Education that labour union in the state had also waded into the matter, but stressed that the new development of slashing workers’ salaries to accommodate primary school teachers which has met resistance from labour has stalemated the meeting with the state government. As things stand now, the possibility of primary schools’ pupils resuming academic activities in the state this third term is slim.
courtesy: http://www.tribune.com.ng/education/item/4283-eight-months-on-benue-primary-schools-remain-shut
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| Gov. Gabriel Suswam |
As primary and post primary schools in the country resume the last lap of 2013/2014 academic session, there is no hope for public primary schools in Benue State as the teachers continue their indefinite strike action embarked upon about eight months ago.
Investigation conducted by Tribune Education revealed that government is yet to meet the demands of the striking teachers who are demanding the implementation of minimum wage.
Consequently, a group under the aegis of Network of Concerned Parents(NCP) has accused the state government of insensitivity to the plight of the out of school pupils of the state.
According to a statement issued recently and made available to the Tribune Education in Makurdi, the acting chairman of the group, Mr John Aondugu said “the prolong industrial action by the aggrieved teachers was taking its toll on the lives of innocent children in public primary schools in the state.
The group decried the failure of government and the striking teachers to come to a compromise in the lingering dispute stressing that “this goes a long way to show that our leaders have suddenly forgotten the responsibilities they owe the upcoming generation of our state.’
“It is inexcusable for a government to shut down primary schools for close to seven months over disputes with teachers and we are all carrying on as if all is well with our state.”
“It is a clear demonstration of arrogance, and outright insensitivity to the plight of our children and wards who have been at the receiving end of this show of strength by the government,” he said.
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| Wombo Solomon |
He told newsmen that for government to implement the minimum wage to the 29, 000 primary school teachers as demanded would amount to borrowing to run government, stressing that the wage bill of (NULGE) if added to the demand of the teachers the wage bill is over N4billion monthly while he hinted that the average revenue accrued to local government from federation account monthly stands at a little over N3billion.
According to him, ‘there is no way we can implement the minimum wage to primary school teachers because of our lean resources, when we computed the wage bill of striking primary school teachers based on minimum wage, it amounted to N2.2 billion and if we are to add this to salary of local government workers which stand at N1.9 billion that means we will be talking of N4billion and above, whereas what is accrued to local government council areas in the state from federation account is on the average of N3.4 billion monthly’.
“So where do you expect us to make up for the difference, we have tried our best by adding something to their salary yet they rejected it, as I am talking to you now, the primary school teachers salary is deposited in the bank, anytime they are ready to resume, we will pay them all the arrears.
“At the advent of this administration, government increased teachers’ salaries by 40 per cent and we also went ahead to pay them 27.5 per cent increment in salaries which brought their wage bill to N1.1billion and any further increment will double that figure.”
Wombo assured that the state government was exploring every avenue to ensure that the strike was called off.
The state government in addressing the issue once told newsmen of its plan to review downward the salary of civil servants in the state so as to accommodate the demands of the primary school teachers.
Governor Gabriel Suswam who disclosed this to newsmen stated that his administration was coerced in implementing the new minimum wage to civil servants which he described as the highest in the country, adding that, “at that time we were also having excess crude oil money, so we thought that the situation will continue like that, hence, the approval for that huge minimum wage.
“For instance, a director receiving N50,000.00 was moved to N150,000 while permanent secretary earning N150,000.00 was jerked up to N400,000.00, adding that with the primary school teachers insisting on full implementation of minimum wage so that they can be at par with civil servants in the state, the best option for us is to review the salary of civil servants downward to be able to accommodate primary school teachers”.
Consequently, the state government set up a committee made up of directors to fine tune the appropriate salary structure to workers in the state.
But Tribune Education reliably gathered that the government’s plan is receiving resistance from labour as they have told the governor not to attempt reducing the workers’ salaries or he incurs the wrath of workers in the state.
State chairman of Nigeria Union of Teachers, Comrade Godwin Anya who spoke to Education Tribune on phone on Tuesday said that his members would remain at home until government meets their demands.
When asked of the plight of the pupils considering the fact that they have stayed for eight months at home, Anya said, “it is not the number of months on strike that is important but to ensure that their demands are met”, adding that “inasmuch as they are concerned about the future of the pupils, we will not compromise our demand”.
He told Tribune Education that labour union in the state had also waded into the matter, but stressed that the new development of slashing workers’ salaries to accommodate primary school teachers which has met resistance from labour has stalemated the meeting with the state government. As things stand now, the possibility of primary schools’ pupils resuming academic activities in the state this third term is slim.
courtesy: http://www.tribune.com.ng/education/item/4283-eight-months-on-benue-primary-schools-remain-shut
