Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has approved the transfer of pay point of primary school teachers from the Ministry of Local Government Affairs to the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
The Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr. Stephen Odey, disclosed this at a meeting of the board with head teachers, education secretaries and the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), which held at Government Secondary School, Igoli, Ogoja.
Odey stated that the measure was part of government’s commitment to ensure prompt payment of salaries of primary school teachers as well as create an effective system of payment to check the existence of ghost teachers in the nominal roll.
The SUBEB boss, who directed all head teachers to submit the nominal roll of their teachers to the State Universal Basic Education Board for implementation of the directive, noted that, education was key to the development of any society, adding that Ayade was very passionate about education at issues, particularly teachers who are the key drivers of the sector.
According to him, “With the step we are going to take now, I assure you that the issue of non-payment of salary will be addressed. I believe that it is only when we work together that we can achieve this dream. While we strive to improve on the system of education in Cross River State, we will only accommodate those who are ready to drive the process, anybody who is not ready to do same will be shown the way out.”
He reiterated that teachers should not pay any amount of money to any SUBEB staff for any entitled benefits or intervention aids.
Speaking earlier, the Director of Administration, Mr. Emmanuel Ojong, said the interactive session which cuts across the three senatorial districts of the state was designed to find solutions to current challenges facing the teachers, and thanked them for the maturity displayed throughout the duration of the non-payment of salaries.
in the state are met at all cause, but quite unfortunately due to certain factors, we are aware that the payment of our teachers’ salaries has had hiccups in the recent past and government is not sleeping, it is doing everything to correct it.
Also speaking, the state Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Com. Eyo-Nsa Itam, said their action was not to negate government as they were not on strike, but to draw attention to the non-payment of teachers for some months which have made it impossible for them to go to work.
He thanked the governor for stepping in to salvage the situation and assured that teachers will definitely return to work, saying “The working condition of the teacher is the learning condition of the child.”
Speaking after the meeting, the executive secretary of Yala Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), some teachers as well as other NUT members, praised the governor’s decision to transfer the pay point from Ministry of Local Government Affairs to State Universal Basic Education Board.
Friday Nwagbara, Calabar