NUT calls for fresh education summit

The newly elected president of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Mr Nasir Idris, has called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency convene education summit for stakeholders to take a critical look at the sector.

Idris was elected two weeks ago at the Minna national convention of the union to replace Michael Alogba Olukoya who had served out his two terms as NUT president.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja, the new NUT president noted that there are several challenges affecting teaching and teacher education in Nigeria that require stakeholders to sit down to resolve.

Such a platform, he said, would provide opportunity for stakeholders to strengthen the weak links and fill all gaps that have continued to bedevil the education system in Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari had similarly in July this year directed the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, to convene a summit on education with a focus on addressing the issue of funding in the sector.

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The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Sonny Echono, had conveyed President  Buhari’s directive to the 63rd National Council on Education (NCE) held in Abuja.

But since that pronouncement, nothing has been heard about it again, just like the education summit held in November 2017, of which stakeholders are still awaiting the outcome.

The new NUT president, however, insisted that the kind of education summit he was advocating must be result-oriented and not the traditional summits where papers are presented without tangible outcome.

Idris also called on the federal, state and local governments to ensure a massive recruitment of qualified teachers and to redouble their efforts in the provision of quality public education that would be affordable and accessible to every Nigerian child, boy or girl.

He reiterated the earlier demand of the union that funding of primary education, particularly payment of teachers’ salaries, be effected through first-line charge from the Federation Account following the ongoing constitution amendment process to grant local government autonomy.

According to him, the bill has sailed through the National Assembly. He then called on the state assemblies to endorse the proposed amendment.

He further called on the Federal Government to give adequate support to the ongoing professionalisation of teaching by ensuring that only professionally trained and qualified teachers are recruited to teach in schools; and that this should include teachers involved in the Federal Government’s N-Power programme.

Idris said there should be improvement in the service conditions of teachers, and that the teaching profession be made special and attractive by adopting a professional salary package for all Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN)-licensed teachers.