The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has called on President Bola Tinubu to approve and implement the welfare packages promised to teachers since 2020.
The National President of the union, Comrade Audu Amba, appealed during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
Amba stated that the Federal Government, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, had promised a special salary structure and other benefits for teachers; however, five years later, those promises have not been fulfilled.
According to him, the unfulfilled promises are partly responsible for the broader challenges affecting teachers’ morale, productivity, and well-being.
He then called on the federal and state governments to ensure full implementation of the approved incentives to boost the morale of teachers in the discharge of their professional duties.
He listed some of the incentives, including the payment of a Special Salary Scale for teachers in basic and secondary education, as well as the reintroduction of bursary awards for education students in universities and colleges of education.
Others include the Special Teachers Pension Scheme, which enables the teaching profession to retain its experienced talent, as well as extending teachers’ retirement age to 65 years, among other incentives.
“There are so many incentives that are attached to it: housing units for teachers, allowances for science teachers and students reading education courses. Our former President, Muhammadu Buhari, took a bold step to approve all these things for us. We have been writing, talking, and advocating, but none of these efforts have been implemented. It will interest you to know that in almost all our teachers’ day messages and other forums where we usually engage with the government, we passed these messages. “We are appealing to President Tinubu to take another bold step in implementing these welfare packages because the government is a continuum,” he said.
Amba, however, appreciated teachers for their courage and sacrifices in the face of daunting challenges and charged them to continue to uphold the ideals of the profession.
NAN recalled that in commemoration of World Teachers’ Day 2020, the Buhari administration approved a special salary scale for teachers in basic and secondary schools nationwide.
The government also announced an increase in the number of service years for teachers from 35 years to 40 years.
Also approved were the construction of low-cost houses, special allowances for teachers in rural areas, and special allowances for science teachers
The packages also included automatic admission into public schools with free tuition for biological children of teachers, as well as automatic employment for Education graduates.
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