Benue teachers resume work today

John Akpodovhan, Makurdi - 08.06.2009

After about four months of strike in Benue State, teachers have decided to resume academic activities today. The state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) called off its strike last week when its chairman, Mr. Godwin Anya, in a statement, said it had agreed to go back to classroom after putting in consideration the interest of its pupils and the state.

It will be recalled that the state NUT joined the national strike to press home its demand for a 27.5 per cent increase which the state government distanced itself from, insisting that it had improved on the salaries of teachers since its assumption of office.

Governor Gabriel Sus-wam said the state government did not have the resources to foot such a bill in the face of reduction in the state’s federal allocation.

He said after paying salaries, the local government councils were left with a meagre amount which had impeded them from embarking on other projects that would have impact on the rural populace.

Nigerian Tribune investigations gathered that children attending government schools in the state did not sit for their second term examination because the teachers were on strike.

According to a source close to the state Ministry of Education, the development was one of the problems schools in the state would face when students resumed.

The source said it would be difficult to cope with a situation where the syllabus was not covered to conduct examinations on what they had not been taught.