NUT Strike Cripples Unity Schools

Fri, Oct 10, 2014

By publisher

4 MIN READ

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Schools in 11 states resume on Wednesday, October 8, but 104 federal unity remain shut over strike by Nigerian Union of Teachers

|  By Fidelia Salami  |  Oct. 20, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT  |

AS public and private primary and secondary schools finally resumed on October 8, for a new academic session, parents of children in the 104 federal unity colleges who are still at home are angry. Their anger is caused by the ongoing strike of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT, in the unity schools.

Some parents and students, who spoke with Realnews, expressed anxiety over the strike which has forced unity colleges to remain closed, more especially because the immediate suspension of the strike could not be ascertained. Otinu Ada Gbarada, a parent who runs a Human Resources Consulting firm in Ogba, Ikeja, stated that two of her children in private schools has just resumed while the one in Federal Science and Technical College, Usi-Ekiti in Ekiti State was yet to return to school because of the strike.

“Initially, it was Ebola Virus Disease issue, now it is Nigerian Union of Teacher, NUT, strike. On September 20, an SMS was sent to us, saying: ‘Dear parents, keep your child/ward at home until the strike embarked upon by the Senior Staff Federal Unity School is suspended. Thanks, PTA, FSTC, Usi-Ekiti,” she said.

The problems in the Federal Government are multi-dimensional, including the inability of the federal government to pay the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, their promotion arrears from 2007 to 2010,” Gbadara said.

Because of this, parents are now appealing to the NUT to suspend its strike to allow students of unity schools to resume immediately. Some of them argued that it was unfair to the students of those schools to remain at home while their counterparts in state and private schools were allowed to resume classes. They pointed out that the teachers had taken an undue advantage of the Ebola threat to quietly embark on a national strike. The parents called on government and teachers to resolve their grievances separately without making the children to suffer.

Indeed, the children themselves have not been finding the situation palatable either. Precious Mercy Ene-Etuk, an 11-year-old and a junior secondary two student in the Federal Government Girls’ College, Sagamu, Ogun State , said she was not happy staying at home while her mates in both state and private schools had resumed school. She said since July 25 when school vacated for third term she had been at home doing nothing much. Although she thanked her mother who organised home teacher for her since the holiday she abhorred the way and manner government has been running education in the country. “We were supposed to resume school for this term on September 13, before the Ebola Virus Disease started. I followed up the Ebola issue every time on news hoping that school would resume soon. Then government postponed our resumption date to October 13 in order to fight Ebola. Thereafter, it was announced that we would resume on September 21. After preparation for me to resume, in fact, the very day I was to go back to school was when another announcement came that the NUT had embarked on strike.

“I feel so sad. I am appealing to President Jonathan to settle the NUT so that they will suspend their strike action. I have been calling my friends and we are all tired of sitting at home. I am also appealing to the NUT to call off the strike immediately to enable us resume classes. I am also aware that when we resume, there will be so much rush in our academics and this will definitely affect our learning ability and level of assimilation. Please beg the authorities concerned for us. There is time for everything, and this is the time for us to study,” she said.

Indeed, many stakeholders have commended the federal and state governments for their success in fighting the war against Ebola virus by putting in place vital measures to contain the virus. Governments have also ensured improvement in sanitation condition of schools to safeguard pupils and teachers from getting the virus.

The measures have encouraged both public and private primary and secondary schools in states such as Rivers, Lagos, Benue, Oyo, Ekiti, Ogun, Kwara, Ebonyi, Kano, Kogi and Akwa-Ibom to finally resume. But for how long are students in unity going to stay at home is a million naira question that no one seems to have an answer.

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