Teachers’ strike paralyses Edo primary schools for four days running

For four days running on Thursday, academic activities in Edo State primary schools remained paralysed as the state’s chapter of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), continued its indefinitely strike action which commenced on Monday, February 1.

The teachers, in spite of the restraining order granted by the Benin division of the National Industrial Court, NIC, on Monday, disregarded the order as they stayed off their classrooms in continuation of the industrial action.

The state government, in response to the strike action, deployed officials of the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, to some of the primary schools to teach the few students who showed up, just as it asked the Public Works Volunteers, PUWOV, to provide basic security to the SUBEB officials.

At Ugbhioko Primary School, Nigerian Tribune discovered that all the pupils who showed up were distributed into three different classes.

When Nigerian Tribune accosted one of the SUBEB officials handling pupils in primary five and six classes, the official, who gave his name as Peter admitted that he is not strained teacher.

According to him, he was deployed to the primary school “as a matter of necessity because the pupils are willing to learn but the teachers are not available.”

“Yesterday (Wednesday), a teacher from the Federal Teachers Service, FTC, was around to teach the pupils. I am not a trained teacher. I am a civil servant with SUBEB,” he disclosed.

One of the pupils, who gave his name as Idemudia John, was seen sleeping on a plank outside the classroom because he was ill.

The SUBEB official explained that he had asked all the pupils to get the telephone numbers of their parents written on the notebook so that any of the parents could be contacted in case of any emergency.

At the entrance of the school, Nigerian Tribune observed that there was no handwashing facility provided in line with the COVID-19 protocols announced by Governor Godwin Obaseki, who while shifting the resumption of academic activities across the state to early in January to February 1, said that all schools must make available handwashing facilities and hand sanitiser when the schools resumed.

An official of PUwOV, who did not disclosed his name, said that they (PUWOV) had asked the SUBEB officials to make available water, soap and hand sanitiser but such were not provided.

It would be recalled that the Edo NUT embarked on the indefinite strike action to demand for the payment of almost two-year salary arrears owed some teachers by three local government councils and the outstanding promotions for primary school teachers in the state.

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