Teachers in public primary and Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in Kwara state yesterday carried out their threat to go on strike despite pleas from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The teachers, who had threatened to commence indefinite strike action yesterday over unpaid three months salaries, deserted classes in public schools in the state.
When newsmen visited some junior secondary schools along Offa road, Zango road and Saw mail areas in Ilorin yesterday, pupils who resumed from Christmas/New Year holiday were seen playing around the compound without any teacher to attend to them.
However, teaching and learning activities were going on in Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) because it was gathered that the state government did not owe SSS teachers.
Speaking with journalists, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Alhaji Abubakar Musa, said the strike became imperative following non payment of October, November and December 2015 salary of the affected teachers.
Alhaji Musa noted that teachers need to be motivated to carry out their duties as motivation is one of the indices of teaching which the teachers presently lack , “there is no way the hungry teachers could deliver effectively, it is better for teachers to stay at home until the Government is capable of paying them.” he said.
Meanwhile, the Kwara state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has appealed to the striking teachers to suspend the strike.
In a release by its Publicity secretary, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari, the party said, “as a party, we wish to state that we feel the concerns and share in the pains of primary school teachers in Kwara State. Quite unfortunate, this issue is chiefly caused by the dwindling allocation from the federation account.
“Therefore, it is not about non-payment of teachers’ salaries but non-availability of funds to pay salaries. It requires collective efforts to address rather than strike action, if the resources are available today, the Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed-led Kwara State Government will pay all teachers like it has always done in the past five years.”
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