Tashikalmah Hallah and Francis Okeke
3 July 2008
As the on-going teachers strike across the country enters its fourth day, the Federal Government yesterday warned the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) not to carry out its threat of picketing private schools whose teachers have been shunning the industrial action.
Minister of Information and Communication Mr. John Odey handed down the warning while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting.
Accompanied by the Minister of Education Professor Igwe Aja-Nwachukwu, the Minister of State for Education Chief Jerry Agada, and the Labour Minister Dr. Hassan Lawan, Odey said such picketing could cause the breakdown of law and order, warning that no reasonable government would fold its arms and allow such to occur.
But in a swift reaction, the NUT president, Comrade Onem Nelson Onem described the warning as an empty threat, stressing that the Minister of Information, John Odeh is ignorant of the country's labour laws.
He said picketing is an instrument of enforcing strike action as provided for in Section 42 of the Trade Union Act. "We advise ministers of education and information to receive proper guidance from the Attorney-General so that they will appreciate that picketing is lawful. We will take full advantage of the law in furtherance of this struggle," the union said.
The union has also vowed to continue its strike action despite a motion passed by the House of Representatives yesterday urging the Federal Government to immediately implement the new Teachers' Salary Structure (TSS).Speaking before the House yesterday, Mr. Niran Ojo, first national vice-chairman of NUT, said that the Union would not suspend the industrial action unless government issues a circular for the immediate implementation of the TSS.
The NUT had on Monday vowed to picket private schools whose teachers have refused to join the strike.Odey said "It is sad that a group of people who are also pioneers in the education sector want to take the laws into their hands. It is most unfortunate and no reasonable government of course would allow that to happen and certainly we will not allow that to happen, and entrepreneurs would not allow that to happen. At least this country is civilised enough not to allow such to happen."
However, Prof. Aja-Nwachukwu expressed the optimism that the NUT would not carry out its threat. He said "Nut is a very responsible organization and we doubt that they can go to that extent. We still believe that they will do everything within the law because we look up to them as mentors. We are yet to be convinced that they are doing such a thing.
If they doing it, then it is very unfortunate." The education minister said the government was committed to motivating teachers in terms of salaries and other issues "since they are the driving force of the education sector.
But they cannot arm-twist us to get us to dialogue. We will dialogue when the atmosphere is conducive". He noted that it was improper for the NUT national body to foist any decision in respect of pay increase on the states and local government, saying "the national union cannot sit down and make decisions for the state union like we are seeing.
This concerns payment and also the ability of various states to pay. How will you compel the private school to take your own rates? They may decide to pay their teachers higher than our own teachers, so they don't fall into the same bracket."Aja-Nwachukwu said despite the rancour, "government is committed and government is also encouraging the states to do what is possible and l can assure you that some states have also started discussing the issue with their teachers."
Meanwhile, the Federal Government is considering placating the striking teachers with a five percent salary increment instead of the new Teachers Salary Structure (TSS) being demanded by the NUT.
The Acting Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Sani Sufi announced government's new thinking yesterday. Dr. Sufi also accused the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Teachers of pursuing selfish interest, under the cover of unionism.
He said the leadership of the NUT has been economical with the truth on the true situation of the new Teachers Salary Structure (TSS). He explained that the leadership cajoled members, many of whom lacked the requisite qualification to benefit from the TSS, to join the strike without educating them of the scope of the TSS. "What the Federal Government is considering is a 5 percent increase in salary and some states have in fact increased it up to 30 percent, and then there are some allowances of not more than between N300-N500 only for the staff of the Federal Government Colleges.
Why then should this catch up with the whole country, simply because the union prefers a centralized thing. What happens if we don't have federal government colleges, we are being compelled to come up with a complex of recommendations, the federal government is insisting that it is not going to be forced to recommend any structure of which somebody will use it to intimidate a state that cannot afford to pay.
The federal government will not recommend any structure because of clear demarcation of responsibilities between the federal, states and local governments on issues pertaining to salaries", Sufi said.Meanwhile, the House of Representatives at its plenary session yesterday adopted a motion moved by Rep Farouk Lawan chairman House Committee on Education urging the Federal government to pay the TSS as it has been provided for in the 2008 Appropriation Act. The House also asked the striking teachers to call off the industrial action.
But Mr. Ojo said, "We cannot call off the strike immediately unless a circular is given to us. There are two parties to this issue; the Federal Government and the NUT. If the Federal Government is ready, we are ready. We thank the members of the House of Representatives and we want to say that immediately the Federal Government hearkens to our request and implement, teachers are not strike hungry, we are ready to go back to work."
We appreciate the motion and we thank them. With the present crop of Representatives, we want to say that Nigeria has a future and we are glad because this is that concerns the future of this country, our children, everybody and the future of individuals because the future of individuals is in the hands of teachers."
Farouk Lawan in the motion revealed that the sum of N781m was provided for the implementation of the TSS for the 120 Unity Schools in the 2008 Appropriation Act but wondered why the government was hesitating in the implementation.Also, the National Association of the Nigeria Students (NANS) has threatened to go on a rampage if President Umar Yar'Adua refuses to correct the decay in the education sector.
NANS President Bashir Babale, while on a courtesy call on the chairman of the House of Representatives committee on education, Farouk Lawal, said that by October 4th, Nigerian students would go on the streets across the country to protest the decay in the education sector, saying the present government is not ready to do anything about the situation.Responding, the chairman of the committee, Farouk Lawal attributed examination malpractices, cultism and sexual harassment as the major problem confronting education sector. He promised that the committee would organize a stakeholders' conference like the one organized by the former minister of education to address the problem in the education sector.
He said that the conference would involve federal government, state, local government, proprietors of schools, donors and other stakeholders and the essence is to revisit the efforts made in the past in correcting the decay in the sector. Also yesterday, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) accused the federal government of misleading Nigerians over the strike matter.In a statement issued in Abuja, the NUT called on President Umaru Yar'adua to relieve the Minister of Education of his appointment because of "his habitual misrepresentation" of the facts over the TSS issue."
The persistent misrepresentation, especially by the Minister of Education, is unfortunate. Indeed, it is obvious that this habitual misrepresentation is responsible for the negative position of the Federal Government on the Teachers Salary Structure.
The time is ripe for Mr. President to declare a vacancy in the education ministry because the incumbent minister is totally incapable of correctly and honestly briefing his principal and owning up to commitments made on behalf of the federal government," the NUT said.
The communiqué jointly signed by the president of NUT, Comrade Obong Ikpe Obong, also condemned remarks by government officials that the federal government has no right to determine how state government should run their primary and secondary school system, saying that such statements were incorrect and divisionary.
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