The teacher, Nigeria’s sad story – Plateau NUT

Teachers in Plateau State, Wednesday, described their profession as Nigeria’s sad story when they marked the World Teachers’ Day. “Teachers are not given the rightful place in the comity of other professions in this country, yet they teach all categories of professionals who in turn maltreat them with irregular payment of their deserved emoluments,”  Comrade […]

Teachers in Plateau State, Wednesday, described their profession as Nigeria’s sad story when they marked the World Teachers’ Day.

“Teachers are not given the rightful place in the comity of other professions in this country, yet they teach all categories of professionals who in turn maltreat them with irregular payment of their deserved emoluments,”  Comrade Gunshin Ralings, state chairman of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said in Jos at the event to mark the day.

He firther stated that “The world over, teachers are accorded their rightful place. Unfortunately, in this part of the world, they are not recognised, and often treated with disdain, yet we are like the candle that burns for others to see light, The teacher’s plight in Nigeria is the country’s sad story.”

 The event held low key in Jos, as it attracted only executives of the union from the local governments and some individual schools, the reason which NUT blamed on irregular payment of salaries.

 At the event, which held at the Teacher’s House along Yakubu Gowon Way, participating union members declined from clapping to cheer their leaders, complaining that they lacked the strength to do so because they have not been enjoying regular payment of salaries and allowances.

The teacher said the non-implementation of the federal government approved minimum wage of N18,000 per month; non-payment of annual increment; non-payment of Leave Transport Grant; non-payment of salaries to their members in Mangu Local Government Area; non-implementation of promotion, just as they requested for total capturing of their members in the biometric data, and elongation of service years for primary teachers are some of the challenges they faced.