Imo teachers oppose lg’s funding of primary education

Gibson Achonu, Owerri

The Imo State Wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers on Friday marched through the streets of Owerri, the state capital, calling for adequate funding and management of primary education in the country.

 The peaceful rally which began at about 10.25am from the NUT House along Port Harcourt road, ended at City School, all in Owerri.

Displaying different inscriptions on their placards, the protesting teachers opposed the call for a change in the primary education funding and management.

 Addressing over 4,000 primary school teachers at the City School, the state NUT Chairman, Mr. Napoleon Aniche, warned against the call for local governments to fund and manage primary schools in the country.

 “The local government councils in the country do not have the capacity to pay primary school teachers. This is why we organised this rally; to speak against the call to grant autonomy status to local governments to fund and manage primary education in the country,” he stressed.

Aniche further said that teachers were not paid upwards of 12 months and more between 1990 and 1994 when the responsibilities of funding and management of primary education were left in the hands of LG councils.

 “This resulted in strikes and other forms of industrial actions. The resultant effect was that primary education then almost collapsed.

“The saving grace then was the call by NUT for Federal Government’s intervention. This led to the setting up of National Primary Education Commission with the state counterpart, State Primary Education Board, charged with the responsibilities of funding and managing primary education,” Aniche noted.

 He recalled that the provision of the 1999 Constitution on the matter should be upheld, saying, “1999 constitution vests the responsibilities of funding and management of primary education on states while the LG participates.

 “This should be upheld to save primary education from imminent collapse that may arise from LG autonomy and scrapping of state and LG Joint Allocation Account when autonomy is granted”.

 Aniche nevertheless, called for increase in the retirement age of primary school teachers to 65, just as he asked for the upward review of the service years for teachers to 40 instead of 35.

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Source: Punchng
Imo teachers oppose lg’s funding of primary education

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