The Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, has appealed for implementation of minimum wage by all states and to all workers entitled to it.
President of the union, Audu Amba made the appeal in Yola on Tuesday at the delegates conference of the Adamawa State Wing of NUT, stressing that teachers in particular require the due motivation to be their best.
Referring mostly to states yet to implement the wage as well as implementing states that are leaving out some categories of teachers, the NUT president said preferential treatment will affect balance of education delivery.
Singling out the situation in Adamawa State, Amba said he was happy that Adamawa was prompt to start implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage but sad that local government workers and primary school teachers are yet to enjoy the new wage.
He said, “Let it reach these people so everyone will feel a part of it all. It is unfair for those not getting the higher wage and it will affect the balance of education delivery.”
Speaking earlier during the NUT conference, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Emmanuel Fache, also urged the Adamawa State Government to extend the payment of the N70,000 minimum wage to primary schools.
He equally appealed for more teachers, especially at the primary school level.
The NLC chairman said, “Some primary schools have just the headmaster and one or two teachers for a whole school, and these few people run helter skelter to man hundreds of pupils in several classes.
“This doesn’t sit well because as we always say, the foundation of education at this level needs to be laid properly for other levels to build on.”
In a message to the NUT delegates conference, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri appealed to teachers to be selfless in discharging their knowledge.
He asked the NUT to fix the paradox of public schools having more qualified teachers than most private schools but producing students of less quality.
He stressed that teachers are called to make sacrifices because in any case government cannot pay them enough for their worth.
Let minimum wage go round – NUT appeals to state govts
