By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
The Cross River State wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, on Thursday appealed to the governor of Cross River State, Senator Prince Basset Otu, for the employment of 10,000 teachers into the Cross River State teaching service to energize the system.
The state Chairman of NUT in Cross River State, Comrade Gregory Olayi, made the appeal to the state governor, Senator Otu while deliverying a speech at the 2023 World Teachers Day celebration, which took place on Thursday at the NUT secretariat, Calabar.
The NUT chairman, who spoke on the theme: ‘The Teachers We Need For The Education We Want: The Global Imperative to Reverse Teachers’ Shortage,’ stated that a total of about 10,000 teachers are needed in the secondary schools and more in primary schools.
Olayi said, “We are demanding for training and retraining of teachers in the science and provision of functional laboratories and workshop for students in schools.
“There is also the need for employment of more teachers to service the system. Available statistics revealed that there is acute shortage of teachers in the school system.”
The NUT Chairman decries the shabby treatment teachers suffer in the hands of previous administrations, stressing that the decay infrastructure in public schools is as a result of neglect by the governent.
Olayi charged the state governent to without any delay commence revamping of key basis infrastructure in educational sector so as to add value to the sector.
Agitating for increased and better renumeration, to boost teachers productivity, the NUT chairman stated that gone are those days when people believe that reward of teachers was in heaven, he called for better condition of service for the teachers so that they can give in thier best, to produced better quality pupil and students.
Olayi said, “As I speak with you, for some years now, primary school head teachers buy chalk, school and class room registers with their own money with nothing being done by the state government.
“There is need for state government to step up it’s game. Promotions are not implemented. I feel that this new governent should look into this issue so that the educational system doesn’t die.
Reacting, the Cross River State Commissioner for Education, Senator Stephen Adi Odey, represented by the Director of Schools Department, in the state Ministry of Education, Mrs. Okama Ubi Amos, called for calm, stressing that the Senator Otu-led administration, which is people-oriented would collaborate with the NUT to ensure the complete upscaling of basic educational Infrastructure for increased productivity.
Odey assured that they would be fair treatment, adding that governent was doing everything humanly possible to ensure that matters that involved teachers in the state are kept at the front burner to turn around the fortunes of the state.
