Teachers working in Anambra State have hailed the state Governor, Willie Obiano for his administration’s improved welfare package for public sector workers as well as teachers in the state despite the current economic crunch in the country.

Addressing teachers during a rally in Awka yesterday to mark this year’s World Teachers Day, the Anambra State chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Ifeanyi Ofodile, observed that the largesse extended to the teachers by the state government had helped to entrench quality service delivery.

He reeled out the governor’s good gesture for the improvement of education in the state to include, provision of laptops to schools, supply of white boards, fencing of schools to make learning more secure, installation of firefighting equipment in schools, provision of funds for the establishment of functional libraries, reconstruction of dilapidated buildings and construction of new ones. Others are procurement of speed boats and water ambulances where necessary.

Offodile noted that prompt payment of salaries, promotion of teachers, harmonised wages among public servants with 15% increase in basic salaries, payment of special allowances for language and science teachers posted to rural areas, financing local and international education workshops for teachers and payment of leave allowances as and when due were developments that had endeared Anambra teachers to the Obiano administration.

Furthermore, he said that despite the improved welfare package, the state NUT was still facing certain challenges, including continued discrimination and denial of Teachers Enhanced Allowance, TEA, to professional teachers posted to the Local Government Education Authority and boards/commissions adding that it has breached the 2008 agreement with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum on the matter.

The NUT boss also observed that the issue of lack of teachers to fill existing gaps created by regular retiring ones and recent outright exclusion of teachers from promotion scheme in relation to other MDAs were worrisome issues for the NUT.

He maintained the union’s major strive was parity in promotion and its financial implication to all concerned, saying that continued denial of the NUT statutory right of representation at the ministry of education and its board and commission was reprehensible.

On his part, the state Head of Service, HOS, Mr. Harry Udu, told the teachers that the state government would clear their outstanding leave allowances before the end of the year as well as a bag of rice for all workers in the state, including teachers during the forthcoming Christmas.

While assuring that teachers’ leave allowance would be included in next year’s budget. He explained that the delay in payment of this year’s leave allowance was because it was not captured in this year’s budget.

He also gave assurance that Governor Obiano would increase salaries of public sector workers as soon as the state’s Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, increased to N2.2 billion monthly.

•Photo shows Governor Obiano.

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