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John Adams, Minna
Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Niger State wing, has warned the government against taking any hasty decision to re-open schools saying such a decision would be counter productive.
The teachers’ union said the pandemic was still around and spreading in alarming proportion, adding that lives of teachers and pupils should be considered before re-opening schools.
Principal Assistant Secretary of the union, Labaran Garba, expressed the fear in Minna at the weekend when he spoke to newsmen after conducting them around the ultra-modern and fully equipped state secretariat of the union.
He said the union had submitted a memorandum to the Niger State government on steps to take before the reopening of schools urging government to critically look into the submission and organise a “critical stakeholders meeting” to fashion out the best approach that would lead to reopening of schools.
“We should not rush into reopening of schools so as not to draw pupils into the pandemic. Teachers are more prone to contracting the diseases because they are closer to pupils; they are the first that will meet the pupils in the event of either a pupil or teacher that has contracted the virus.”
Garba also asked the government to “seriously consider teachers in the sharing of palliatives when schools reopen.”
Garba disclosed that over N150million had been spent on the construction and furnishing of the new secretariat.
“The project is funded through union dues. We did not obtain bank loan from anywhere and we are not owing anybody on this project. There is no government intervention, this is done purely from our own 45 per cent share of members contributions” Garba said.
