The National President of Nigeria Union of Teachers, Mohammed Nasir Idris has called on the Federal Government to consider and approve special salary structure for teachers in Nigeria to address the peculiarities of the teaching profession.
He also urged the Federal Government to without delay, pay teachers of the 104 Federal Government Colleges, also known as Unity Schools, 27.5 per cent enhanced professional allowances.
Idris spoke on Saturday at the 2019 World Teachers’ Day celebration with the theme: “Young Teachers: The Future of the Profession” held at Eagle Square Abuja, where President Muhammadu Buhari said there would be urgent policies that would provide allowances and initiate annual retention benefits for teachers in order to attract them to rural communities.
The Federal Government also at the event rolled out a robust insurance package for teachers in the country with every teacher to be insured at one million naira.
This came as a 50-year-old female teacher, Mrs Elusakin Agnes Iyabo, from Oriwu Senior Model College, Ikorodu, Lagos, emerged the 2019 overall best teacher in Nigeria and smiled home with Hyundai Sonata car.
A total of three cars, two buses were presented to various categories of winners by the Federal Government among the 24 awardees at the event.
NUT President Mohammed Idris, in his address, called for a special salary structure for teachers, which he said the Union had been agitating for since 1999.
He said: “It is our belief that a special salary structure for teachers would address the peculiarities of the teaching profession and give the profession its identity and status.
“We hereby make our humble submission that the proposal for a uniform Teachers Salary Structure (TSS) for all professional teachers in the country be given due attention and consideration.
Idris, however, commended the Federal Ministry of Education for the various reforms being put in place to improve the quality of education delivery in the country.
While calling for immediate payment of 27.5 per cent professional allowances to teachers of Federal Government Colleges, he noted that payment of the said allowances would go a long way to further motivate the affected teachers towards optimum performance and productivity.
The Union also urged relevant authorities to ensure that teachers of Unity Schools and other Command Schools in the country were allowed to fully exercise their Trade Union rights by belonging to the industrial unions of their choice.
He thanked President Buhari for revisiting the protracted issue of National Secondary Education Commission (NSEC) and approving the establishment of the Commission on May 2019, while also urging the Federal Government to ensure that the NSEC becomes operational for effective management of secondary education in the country.
Idris also appealed to President Buhari to assent the Bill for upward review of retirement age of teachers into law.
He said the teachers of primary and secondary schools in the country were pleased to note that the 8th National Assembly passed the Bill for review of the retirement age of Teachers/Education Officers from 60 to 65 years.
He added that it was the expectation of teachers that the President would without hesitation, sign the bill into law as an extension of the good gesture of the Federal Government to teachers and secondary schools as it was done for their colleagues at the tertiary level in the past.
President Buhari, who was represented by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, acknowledged the plight of teachers in rural communities and pledged to ensure that policies were urgently enunciated to provide allowances and initiate annual retention benefits for teachers in order to attract them to rural communities.
Buhari said: “The Federal Government shall collaborate with state governments with a view to providing incentives to teachers especially in the rural areas so as to encourage young talents to the teaching profession”.
While expressing commitment to providing quality and inclusive education in the country, the President said his administration would give more attention to the training and retraining of teachers in order to enhance their capacities for effective service delivery.
The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu in his speech condemned attacks on educational institutions over the years, ranging from kidnappings, killings, arson, vandalism and hooliganism.
He, however, noted that to address this challenge, the Federal Ministry of Education endorsed the safe school declaration while steps were taken to implement the commitments through policy, financial, pragmatic and political for protection of students, teachers, and schools from armed attack and military use.
Adamu’s speech was read by the Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.
He said: “We are aware that you have requested for extension of retirement age, the Attorney General of the Federation is one of your champions and that bill has sailed through the National Assembly is awaiting Presidential assent.
“We are also addressing some of the issues that teachers have said are their issues, making teachers work safer.
“We are already in partnership and discussing with the national association of insurance companies with a view to partnering with the ministry of education to ensure every teacher in Nigeria for a minimum of one million per person that will be paid to their families in case anything happens to them.
“We are working to make sure that if it is a female teacher she will be insured. Insurance that will takeoff on her head will be 1.2 million. If it is for a teacher who teaches science technology or mathematics it will take out 1.5 million insurance on the person’s head.
“Teachers are valuable to this country and I can tell you that for less than N900 that you pay as your tax, on it the Federal Government would have insured you monthly for the rest of your life while you are in our service.
“We are also going to escalate and expand your access to knowledge. The federal government is already working with a lot of the service providers in the country and the Ministry of Communication to champion and provide every teacher registered.
“We will make sure your registered telephone number is credited with 1 GB data every month for the rest of your life to enable you to access the internet for your work.
“We are welcoming our teachers to the next level, anything you ask us to do, we will do,” he said.
The high point of the event was the presentation of various awards to deserving winners. Under the President’s Teachers and Schools Excellence Award, a 50-year-old female teacher, Mrs Elusakin Agnes Iyabo, from Oriwu Senior Model College, Ikorodu, Lagos, emerged the 2019 overall best teacher in Nigeria and was presented with Hyundai Sonata car.
Also, Adebiyi Temitayo won the overall winner best school teacher private category and was presented with keys of the Hyundai Accent.
While Pearlville School Avu Imo State Owerri, clinched the overall winner best school private category and got 18 seater bus, Flora Azikiwe Model Comprehensive Secondary School became the overall winner best school, public category and received an 18 seater bus donated by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki who stole the show at the event when his arrival was heralded with his teeming supporters who stormed the venue, singing praise songs in honour of him, was awarded the NUT Best Governor of the year 2019 in recognition of his investment in education and welfare of teachers in his state.
Obaseki told journalists at the event that on assumption of office, he was concerned that even the number of out-of-school children was low but the rate involvement in human trafficking in the state was high.
He noted at that at the root of these challenges was the poor quality of education, stressing that this propelled him to take far-reaching measures including the building of classrooms, renovation of existing ones, deployment of technology among other initiatives to provide quality and access to quality education in the state.
The Governor noted that the role of teachers was critical in providing quality education, saying “if a teacher is not in the classroom or does not know what to teach, there is no way a child can learn.”
He noted that the foundation of education just like any other thing as important as such his administration gave priority attention to primary and secondary education including the welfare of teachers in the state.
Meanwhile, Mrs Elusakin Agnes Iyabo, from Oriwu Senior Model College, Ikorodu, Lagos, who emerged the 2019 overall best teacher in Nigeria, tasked both the Federal and state governments to give priority attention to training and retraining of teachers for them to give their best in the system.
Iyabo said she was happy to receive the award saying it was a reward for hard work, commitment and dedication in her 27 years of teaching in Lagos State.
He urged other teachers not to think that their rewards are in Heaven but to put in their best in whatever circumstance they found themselves.
When asked on secret behind the award, she said: “Hard work, diligence, commitment. It is commonly said that in public schools, there are no facilities but on your own, you can improvise.
“I go out of my way to look for resources to see that the children in my school are also excelling. That has been shown in our results over the years. Majority of students always come out with excellent performance in Mathematics and English in Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination,” she said.
and then