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•‘Some Anambra communities invaded schools with thugs, beat up teachers, detained principal in police custody for days
From Obinna Odogwu, Awka
Comrade Chika Grace Chukwudozie is the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Anambra State Wing. She teaches mathematics at Catholic Girls’ Secondary School, Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of the state.
She started her teaching career at Seat of Wisdom Secondary School, Ozubulu in 1999 and later moved to Comprehensive Secondary School, Ozubulu (1999-2000). From there she proceeded to St. Michael’s Secondary School, Ozubulu (2000-2010) and later on to Grundtvig International Secondary School, Oba in Idemmili South LGA (2010-2011).
Before now, Chukwudozie served at the Ekwusigo branch of the NUT from 2018 to 2023 as its chairman. Her achievements propelled her to seek the number one position of the union at the state level which she won by a landslide.
In this interview with Saturday Sun, the mathematics teacher who has equally held and is still holding different positions in her hometown, Ozubulu; her church, and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), spoke on various issues concerning teachers and the teaching profession.
How has it been leading thousands of teachers in Anambra State?
Well, it has not been easy. I came into office on the 29th day of August, 2023 after an election. I got 152 votes and my opponent got 30-something votes. I can’t remember the exact figure but 30 plus. It has not been easy but God has been seeing me through. We met NUT in Anambra State in a mess because of the way my predecessor handled it. But by God’s grace, we have straightened things up and we are moving on gradually.
By the nature of their jobs, teachers don’t seem to have the extra time to engage in ‘side hustle’ for extra income. Considering the high cost of living in Nigeria today, how do they cope?
We have what we call Plan B; everybody is into one thing or the other. Even as I am speaking with you now, I am into the clothing business. I sell Abada materials. If you check my WhatsApp status you will see my materials posted there. I don’t have a shop. My dealers post samples to me and I display them there. Anyone you like you pay and I will supply it to you. So, every other person is into one thing or the other. Some are into livestock rearing – piggery, poultry, goats; some are into these materials too. They are into so many businesses. Teachers are not relying on just their salaries these days because, just as you rightly pointed out, the economy is very bad; it cannot be enough. So, we manage our time to make things move fine so that no side will be cheated, especially the main job which is teaching.
So, what do you consider the most pressing challenge facing teachers in Nigeria today?
We have many challenges but the most pressing one is, let me say the salary. The salary is still very poor. Though it comes as at and when due, the governor is doing very well to that effect but the salary issue is not just peculiar to teachers alone. So, if we want now to particularise on teachers alone, I will say teaching has not always been easy. Students are not helping matters. Social media is distracting students and making the work of teachers very hard to the extent that parents even buy phones for their children in secondary schools. And you see some coming to school with phones. At times if you’re teaching, a student may be too quiet and you may think he is listening. If you go close you will see that he is pressing a phone. They even go to the extent of taking phones into exam halls, which is very bad; that’s exam malpractice. It makes them not to study. They don’t study the way we studied during our own time. Not all of them but the majority of them. So, reading culture is gradually dying off. Even during the World Book Day, in order to encourage students to study, the union under my watch bought thousands of novels which we distributed to some primary and secondary schools through the Chairmen of the Post Primary Schools Service Commission (PPSSC) and Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB). So, I think the most challenging thing there is the cooperation of the students and parents because these phones, sometimes students don’t buy them by themselves; their parents buy the phones for them. Or even if they don’t buy them, they see them using phones at home. They shouldn’t encourage that. It is making the work difficult for us teachers.
What then are the challenges generally, apart from the most pressing ones you mentioned?
We have other challenges like the community; sometimes they don’t treat teachers well. There was a time when a President-General of a community went to a school in Njikoka Local Government Area; there’s one technical school in Njikoka LGA. The PG was looking for a student who committed an offence in their community. He went to the school. He felt maybe he would get him in the school since he couldn’t get him at home. He went to his school; the principal was not around; so the teacher that was there told the PG and his thugs that they could not take the student since the principal wasn’t there; that they had to go and come back later. The PG was like ‘who are you to tell me what to do in my community’ or something like that. They beat up the teacher; his thugs beat the teacher up. So, that case, though we reported to the Commissioner for Education, but that case died down that way. It is not good. There was another one in Ogbaru; the teacher flogged the student, the student waited for the teacher on his way home and beat the teacher up. So, these are the challenges teachers are facing. Teachers are burning their candles to make tomorrow to be there and people that are supposed to be supporting them, turn back again and stabbed them in the back. It is not good. That case was not handled well also. One happened again in Osumenyi community in Nnewi South LGA. The principal and vice principal were locked up by the community people again. They were in the police custody for about four days before they were bailed. You can imagine that. That shouldn’t be done to a teacher, no matter what. No matter what the offence of the teacher is, you don’t do that to a teacher. What would the students say? How can a teacher stand tall again in front of the students and teach them? So, the community and the entire people need to mind the way they address teachers and how they treat teachers especially in public places. So, these are our challenges too.
These incidents you mentioned, which year did they happen?
All these things happened this year. The Ogbaru incident happened this year; that of Osumenyi also happened this year too. But that of Njikoka, I think that one happened last year.
You mentioned that students press phones while teachers are in class. Have you ever gotten a report of what they view in those phones while the teacher is teaching?
Before you get to them, they will switch off the phone. I feel that they may be playing games online. But whatever they’re doing with the phones is distracting them. The major thing there is that they are being distracted. We confiscate the phones. It is not only in public schools. It also happens in private schools. Anytime it is seen, we seize the phone.
Teachers have been complaining that all the benefits they were getting in the past have all been cut off. They mentioned bush allowance, bags of rice every year, workshops which they used to attend every August, and others. Can you throw some light on that?
Those allowances were sponsored by the World Bank. They said that it was a test run because I was involved. I am a maths teacher and I got it once or twice. So when I went to the officer in charge of that then, that was about two or three years ago, they said that it was a test run; that they just wanted to see how it would go. So, they have done the first part and that feedback has been sent to them. So, it is now left to them to know whether they will be continuing it or not. Since then we’ve not had any other thing. It is not a state affair. Even that in-service training you talked about, it was the World Bank too that sponsored them; because I know I attended most of them; all the science teachers and stipends will be given to teachers that attended. So, that is it.
In view of the insecurity ravaging the country today, how safe, secure and conducive are your places of work in Anambra State?
I will say that the schools are safe and conducive; and secure too. Our governor is out for public schools. In the past, the buildings were dilapidated; no fence, no chairs, no desks; the teaching materials were not there but now, Governor Chukwuma Soludo is interested in public schools. According to him, he attended public primary school, public secondary school and public university; and he knew how things were then. So, he wants to return that glory back to public school because you know these days everybody wants their child to go to either mission school or private school. They feel they do it better there. The teachers in public schools, there was a time they were not even monitored. Because the pay was so poor and when they were being owed by Mbadinuju people were just behaving the way they liked. But now, the governor is focusing on public schools. He has rebuilt so many schools; renovated so many schools and the quality assurance departments are on teachers to make sure they give the best. And teachers recruited are qualified teachers. So, they are being monitored to make sure that they deliver. You heard what happened recently. The best primary school in Nigeria is a public primary school in Woliwo in Anambra State. They took first. Before, where will you hear of such despite all the big private schools in the state? There are so many states that will feel that they are doing better than us but this has shown us that we are on the right track; we are really progressing.
During the World Teachers’ Day celebration in Awka, you said that the governor made pronouncements on the issue of the new retirement age for teachers but couldn’t actualise it because of the response of some uninformed teachers. Can you throw more light on that?
Not once, not twice, not even thrice. He has come here a few times. Immediately he says it, teachers will start shouting no, no, no! They don’t want it. This is something that has been signed into law by the former President, Late Buhari. So many states have adopted it but our people don’t want it. Each time he comes here and mentions it, teachers will start shouting no, no, no.
Why don’t they want it? Why the rejection?
I interviewed some of them. Some just want to retire. Somebody was telling me ‘please I want to go now that Soludo is still here so that he will pay me my gratuity. I don’t want problems.’ Some said ‘abeg I am tired. I want to go. Let him employ our children.’ Some teachers that are there will say ‘let the old ones go so that we can come up and become principals and head teachers.’ You see the controversies there. So, that is the issue. But I have pleaded with him to announce it if he wants to. Those who want to go should go. The governor himself told me that he has gone to the streets to interview people and they told him no, let their children be employed; that so many youths are there; that ‘if I worked for 35 years, am I not okay?’ and he said that some of them he met were already too old. You know some people don’t put in their correct age. Somebody may already be 65 years old and you are talking of adding five more years. Such a person will not want it. He or she will want to go. So these are the problems we are having with the new retirement age.
Personally, do you consider their reasons valid enough? Do you think they make sense; especially those suggesting that the younger ones should be employed instead?
If you make it 65 years, it will be there. The children will still come, and when they come they will still stay for 65 years. They will still work for 40 years and get to 65 years. After all, these 35, 60 years, we don’t even know how it started. Maybe it started with 20, 50 and they increased it to 35, 60 which we are used to now. So, we will get used to this one too. Those coming in will also enjoy it. Personally, I want the new retirement age of 65. Sure! I want it. I didn’t even get this job on time. So, if you add five more years for me, it is going to be great. I want it.
How does the NUT under your watch deal with the issue of bullying in schools among students?
Well, bullying is a thing of the past in Anambra State. No school tolerates bullying. So, there is no need looking for a solution where there is no problem. It is not a problem in Anambra State.
What do you want from the government for the teachers under your leadership?
I would ask for a welfare package for teachers which will serve as an encouragement for them. In my address during the teachers’ day celebration, I pleaded that teachers should be promoted to level 17. They should be made Permanent Secretaries. It will encourage them in their work. As they work hard, they know that they may be picked or cited. It will encourage them to work harder. For the union taking care of the teachers, we will be asking for vehicles. We don’t have good vehicles. We’ve been pleading with the governor to come to our aid. Most times when we travel, our vehicle will break down in the middle of bushes. Sometimes we will be arriving late to our destination. It is very risky. Our governor is doing well but we will always ask for more. But for the welfare package, I cannot be here and dictate to him what to do. But no matter how little; even if it is N10,000, N15,000 or N20,000 every month for teachers, we are going to appreciate it so much. Let him be the first to start it in Nigeria. He is a pacesetter. Let him set this one and we will appreciate it so much; that he has given his teachers a welfare package of N20,000 every month. It’s going to be a thing of joy and a thumbs-up for him in the whole country; and before you know it every governor will start copying him. Some may even want to outshine him. But let him set the pace. Let others follow.
