Don’t pay us through LGCs – Bayelsa teachers

By Joy Emmanuel Yenagoa

Teachers in Bayelsa state also staged a rally against the handover of payment of primary schools teachers’ salaries to the local government councils. Th e teachers also denied the claim that they were against the ongoing constitutional amendment to grant local government autonomy. Th e protesting teachers, led by the state chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Pastor Kalama John Tompre, said the decision to staged a peaceful rally within the state capital, was to register the union’s opposition to the planned handover of payment of teachers’ salaries to local government administration. Th e protesting teachers, who went through the Erepa road and Bay Bridge area of the state capital with placards with inscriptions such as: “Show total not partial likeness for Education’, Payment of Teachers Salaries must not be toiled with”, “shaky foundation, collapse system”, “Basic Education is a right and must be protected”, and “Respect Supreme Court Judgment on payment of teachers salaries”, insisted that past experience had shown that “local governments were not capable and cannot handle payment of teachers salaries”. “We are not against local government autonomy.

What we are asking for is the handing over of the payment of teachers’ salaries to state govrnments. Th e monies for teachers salary should be taken on fi rst deducted from the Federation Account and handed to the UBEC for onward transfer to SUBEB for payment” , Tompre said. He said there was the need for the federal government to respect the 2012 Supreme Court’s judgment on the responsibility of state and federal governments to primary school education in Nigeria.” “Th e plan, if allowed to sail through will pose serious threat to the foundation of education in Nigeria, and every genuine and bold attempt must be made by education loving Nigerians to rescue and save primary education from imminent collapse.”

 

“We do not want the payment of salaries of our primary school teachers to be joined in the autonomy that will be granted the local government. Th e Supreme Court made it very clear that the management of primary school is in the hands of state governments and we stand on this verdict.” “We don’t know why anybody in his right thinking senses will want primary school teachers’ salaries to be joined with local government areas. As teachers, we say, we are not against local council autonomy, but allow our salaries to come from state governments or let it go through Universal Basic Education Commission direct so that we can receive our salaries promptly”.

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