The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Jigawa state chapter, has called for the improvement of teachers welfare in other to create enabling environment for teachers in the state.
Leaders of the union have noted that the state is being faced with serious challenges over the shortage of teachers amounting to about 32,000 position to fill in the gap.
The state chairman of the union Comrade Abdulkadir Yunusa, made the call while speaking to newsmen in his office shortly after the celebration of 2023 World Teachers Day held at Aminu Kano Triangle, Dutse, the Jigawa state capital.
He stated that teachers are currently going through difficult times as a result of fuel subsidy removal which, has made the economic situation in the country very intense, that the price of food items have increased with over 50 percent while the salary did not increase.
The chairman, however, urged the Jigawa state government to prepare for the payment of six months wages awarded, also provide soft loan and palliatives to the teachers as well as other working class citizens in the state.
“We are also calling on the state government to come up with Public Mass Transit ( a cheaper Transportation Program) to help in reducing the huge burden on teachers and the general public hardship that has been experienced from the fuel subsidy removal”
The chairman also described the recent engagement of 1,000 temporary teachers which made numbers of the temporary teachers to 5,500 in the state as a step forward, particularly with promise made by the governor to observe them into the system in the nearest future.
According to him, the shortage of the teachers in the state is very alarming, “We have over 32,000 teachers gap, there are over 270 schools with only one teacher, how can you get quality and efficient learning there”
“I am calling on all critical stakeholders in our education sector, to know the danger we are facing and join hands in addressing it from 2015 to date over 14,000 of our teachers in basic and post basic schools had retired, only 1,500 were recruited within the period this is very alarming to the future of our education”
“There is need for an emergency action to rescue the situation, this include mass recruitment of not less than 20,000 teachers, the manpower , Graduate of all filed are there available for outsourcing ” the Chairman stated
, Jigawa state chapter, has called for the improvement of teachers welfare in other to create enabling environment for teachers in the state.){kind=link}