The Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, on Wednesday, threatened to direct its members on a nationwide indefinite strike, if the proposed Local Government Autonomy and scrapping of the State Joint Local Government Account sail through in the ongoing Constitution Amendment.
This disclosure was made by the National President of NUT, Comrade Michael Olukoya, who briefed newsmen at the end of the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of NUT held at the NUT headquarters, Abuja, insisted that granting of LG autonomy would lead to total collapse of primary education in Nigeria.
Tribune newspaper reports that Olukoya advised the governors of the 36 states of the Federation and members of State Houses of Assembly to resist the recommendation of the National Assembly in the recent proposed scrapping of the State Joint Local Government Accounts, as contained in the Bill for an Act to further alter the provision of the 1999 Constitution.
According to the NUT boss, the implication of the LG autonomy was that payment of teachers’ salaries, pension contributory funds and payment of retirees would be left in the hands of Local Councils.
According to him, the development would be a great setback to the efforts by the Federal and State Governments to revamp primary education in the country.
“The moment the Constitutional Amendment process is concluded against the wishes of the Nigerian teachers, we shall direct all schools in Nigeria to remain closed. The mother of all strikes shall commence; because we have a responsibility to protect and defend our members,”Olukoya said.
The NUT President said the sad memory of the near-total-collapse of Primary Education between 1990 and 1994, when Primary Education came under the control of the LGs, was still very fresh.
“At that time, the Local Governments allocation from the Federation Account was increased from 15 per cent to 20 per cent, to ensure that Local Councils comfortably assist the State Governments in the payment of salaries of the primary school teachers,” he added.
“Unfortunately, primary education was never in the priority list of the LG Councils as virtually all of them resorted to owning the teachers their salaries for upwards of 6 to 12 months continuously.
“Expectedly, the situation attracted incessant strikes from the deprived teachers which heralded a near total collapse of Primary Education in Nigeria. The effect of that is still hunting the entire education sector till date,” Olukoya added.
He recalled that the period was also the era when all the Local Government Councils failed to contribute its mandatory 15 per cent of the teachers’ emolument to the pension fund meant for payment of pensions and gratuities of primary school teachers.
Olukoya said: “It is therefore worrisome that when the Federal and State governments are focusing on how to fix entire education system in Nigeria and reverse the exodus of our children to Ghana, South Africa and other countries in search of good education, the progress is once again about to be thwarted and reversed back to the dark era.”
Olukoya noted that the Supreme Court judgment in 2002, made it amply clear that “in so far as primary education is concerned, a Local Government Council only participates with the State Government in its provision and maintenance. The function obviously remains with the State governments.”
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