From John Adams, Minna
There was mild drama at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Center in Minna, the Niger state capital on Wednesday when Chairmen of local government councils in the state staged a walkout from the venue of the event.
The chairmen who had graced the occasion were left out of the list of dignitaries that were recognized by the Master of Ceremony (MC) and this did not go down well with the local government chief executives.
The chairmen left the venue one after the other without making their grievances known to the organizers of the event, but one of them who spoke to our correspondent under the condition of anonymity said the incident was a collective insult to them, saying that, “We pay the teachers salaries how come no mention is made about our presence in the hall.”
When the Master of Ceremony was alerted he quickly corrected the mistake, calling all of them to stand up for recognition, the aggrieved chairmen had left the hall.
In his address at the occasion, the state chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Mohammed Adamu Akayago, rolled out a number of challenges that are being faced by teachers in the state.
These challenges, he disclosed, range from delays in the payment of salaries, inadequate teachers in schools, lack of promotions, and refusal to implement the provisions of the agreement reached between the NUT and the government one year after the agreement was entered into.
Akayago said some of the agreements yet to be implemented are “Full implementation of Teachers Salary Structure TSS, refund of outstanding ENDwell scheme/Cooperatives deductions and four months outstanding salary arrears for primary school teachers recruited in 2019.”
Akayago also said security challenges facing Shiroro, Rafi Mashegu Paikoro, Munya Mariga and Rijau local government areas have adversely affected the desired delivery of quality education in schools.
“The unpleasant situation has equally compelled the state government to close down some schools in the aforementioned local government areas,” the chairman said.
In his keynote address, the vice chancellor of the state-owned Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai Professor Abu Kassim Adamu, advocated the review of the curriculum for primary and secondary schools.
Professor Adamu also called for improvement in the remuneration of teachers adding that they should be properly motivated to make them discharge their duties very well.