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We're Not Ones To Cut Grass, Union Of Teachers To Edo Government

“Your board’s unending shenanigans and arm-twisting of our teachers which are now dovetailing into full scale tramping on their rights should stop henceforth.”

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The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) in Edo State has defied orders by the Edo State government to resume on September 2, 2019.

SaharaReporters recalls that the teachers a week ago had given the state government a three-week warning strike notice if its demands for the release of the approved N60 million termly subvention to schools, payment of EDO BEST stipends of 2018 and 2019 to teachers and rejection of competency test for teachers was not met.

The Human Resources Department of SUBEB in a circular letter dated August 20, 2019, and signed on behalf of the executive chairman of the board, Mrs. Joan Oviawe called the teachers of Edo State to resume a week earlier than the pupils.

The circular read, “I am directed to humbly refer to the above subject and to inform teachers of Edo State Universal Basic Education Board across the 18 LGEAs that school resumes for the 1st term 2019/2020 academic session on Monday, the 9th of September, 2019. “That the Board wishes to return to the usual practice of teaching/non-teaching staff resuming a week earlier than the pupils.

This practice the board has considered very necessary to enable teachers to put all arrangement in place for the effective take-off of the teaching/learning process immediately, upon resumption.

It added, “In the light of the foregoing, teaching and non-teaching staff in our schools across the 18 LGEA are therefore to resume school on Monday, 2nd of September, 2019.”

However, in a statement obtained by Daily Post on Monday, the assistant general secretary, Mike Itua, called on it members not to pay attention to the  circular letter by SUBEB directing them to resume on September 2, 2019, for the First Term of 2019/2020 academic session, as against the approved September 9, 2019, by the education ministry.

“In continuation of your board’s insensitivity to human dignity and plight of our primary school teachers, the attention of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Edo State Wing, has been drawn to your circular letter–SUBEB/A/7VOL.IIT/90 of 20th August, 2019, where you directed teachers to resume for the 2019/2020 first term academic session on the 9th of September, 2019 on the other hand, in a twist, you further directed the same teachers to also resume a week earlier than the pupils (that is, on the 2nd of September, 2019) to enable them put all arrangements in place for effective take-off of teaching/learning process.

“Arising from the above directives by your board, the state wing executive council of NUT want to inform you that, public primary school heads and their teachers are not the ones to clean up classrooms or cut grasses in their school compounds, but shall only act as supervisors to the pupils in executing such assignments on their resumption, if your board lacks the capacity to provide or employ cleaners and gardeners in the schools.

“Your board’s unending shenanigans and arm-twisting of our teachers which are now dovetailing into full scale tramping on their rights should stop henceforth,” it said.