Just as schools resumed in Niger state, teachers in government-owned primary schools declared a sit-at-home over payment of salaries in percentages.
Noting why they decided to commence their strike at the resumption of schools, the State Chairman of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Akayago Adamu Mohammed, said the organisation had earlier given the state an ultimatum to stop the payment of teachers’ salaries in percentages.
According to him; “it’s a sit-at-home and the major issue is the percentage payment of salaries of teachers.
“This continuous payment of salaries in percentages is not good at all. We have issued them an ultimatum and our resolutions since December but up till now, nobody has acted and percentage payment has continued.”
Mohammed emphasized that; “the sit-at-home will last as long as it takes the government to resolve this problem.”
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One of the teachers in the state, Mohammed Babagana Gulu, in a post he titled “Pathetic situation: The first child is now the last one in the family”, on the Niger State SUBEB Facebook Account asked “What has teachers done to the leaders of this generation?
“What exactly is the offence of primary school teachers and why are they serving punishment for an offence they didn’t commit?”
He added: “The men and women that were taught and voted by same teachers are now their enemies. These enemies are people who were given education freely.
“This is so pathetic to the extent that primary school teachers have to beg in most situations to feed their families and these leaders who cry out about lack of money are still building houses and buying cars.
“Where is justification in this matter? I pray this sit-at-home will yield something positive.
“Teachers must not resume back to school in tears. It’s either they pay 100 per cent or the school remain closed even though, they don’t care because their own children are not attending the free and dilapidated institutions.”
