NUT urges Wike to employ, pay gratuity as union marks teachers day

Joining the world to celebrate International Teachers’ Day with the theme: The Transformation of Education Begins with Teachers, the Rivers State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has urged the state government to employ more teachers, pay gratuity and implement financial benefits of promotion since six years.

The state Chairman of NUT, Collins Ebokwa Echikpu, lamented that the union had written letters to the state government, which, they alleged, fell on deaf ears or received empty promises.

Echikpu claimed the state had not implemented promotion and payment of arrears since 2007 and has not conducted promotion interviews in the two boards since 2014.

He said: “I would want to state that teachers of Rivers State have many complaints to fill pages of papers in this year’s World Teachers Day because our complaints, demands, entitlements and requests have severally been tendered to the government of Rivers State, the boards, parastatals and even individuals, but all we have continued to receive are promises upon promises, and no implementation.

“Yes, we appreciate the government for regular payment of salaries and renovation of some schools, but the statutory welfare of teachers has been so neglected that one wonders if our government doesn’t realise that the working condition of the teacher is the learning condition of the child, which need urgent and prompt attention.”