Press Review

What is not wrong with implementing Teachers Salary Scale?

2008-06-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

In the news today we here that the school teachers both in secodary and primary school have embarked on a three day strike to drive home there demand for the implementation of the Teachers, Salary Scale.As a consequency of this ,the National Examination Council (NECO) postponed the scheduled examination that is suppose to have started before now.What exactly is the problem with implement the salary scale of the teacher if in the first palce it was agreed upon by both parties before now only for it to be flawed now when it can to implementation.
The Guardian Newspaper has this intresting article regarding this issue at hand.
Primary and secondary schools teachers in the country yesterday made good their threat to embark on a three-day national warning strike.

The action is to protest the Federal Government's refusal to negotiate with the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) over a Teachers' Salary Scale (TSS).

From the Federal Government's reaction to the strike yesterday, it may be protracted as it ruled out plans to meet with the teachers.

The first victims of the trade dispute are candidates writing the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) organised by the National Examinations Council (NECO), who had the subjects slated for yesterday cancelled. NECO proceeded to put on hold the entire exercise, which started on June 2, 2008.

And as the strike enters the second day today, Education Minister, Dr. Aja Nwachukwu, said yesterday in Abuja that "it is not the mandate of the Federal Government to fix salaries for teachers in primary and secondary schools."

Rather than blaming the government for the crisis, Nwachukwu said that Nigerians should take up the teachers for embarking on an "unnecessary strike."

Nwachukwu, however, said that if the Federal Ministry of Education was invited as arbiters, it would respond accordingly.

He emphasised that "we cannot interfere in the affairs of the states. We cannot negotiate with the teachers since we don't know the ability of the states to pay. We insist that the teachers should go to their various states to negotiate their salaries. It is not our mandate (to do so)."

Nwachukwu stated that the government would not jump into the issue just to score cheap points as "we are not in any popularity contest with any body."

He told journalists during the break period of yesterday's Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting that "the teachers don't have any basis to go on strike because education is on the concurrent list (in the constitution). And by right, the states and local governments are in charge of secondary and primary education. We (Federal Government) are going to enhance the salaries of teachers in Federal Colleges. But on the issue of negotiating with the teachers, we don't have anything to do with that."

Nwachukwu therefore advised Nigerians to stop being emotional about issues "but to go back and read the 1999 Constitution in order to know the role of the various tiers of government."

NECO yesterday claimed that security reports reaching it from across the country in the past six days have become so intense that it considered it wise to stop the examinations since it might be unable to curtail widespread malpractice resulting from the unconducive environment.

NECO Registrar and Chief Executive, Prof. Promise Okpala, who called off the examination at a media briefing in Abuja, refused to say in clear terms the reasons behind the postponement.

An insider said the action was not unconnected with the industrial action embarked upon by NUT.

According to Okpala, it is in the interest of the Council not to reveal such signals, since "A General Military Personnel does not come in the open to disclose his combat strategies to the enemies. You know there are people who live on examination malpractice and they would be ready to exploit the opportunity.

All the subjects already taken, NECO said, are not affected by the postponement and a new date would be announced later.

The warning strike forced the closure of schools in Abuja and its environs. When The Guardian visited some schools in the FCT, it was discovered that teachers complied with the NUT directive.

In Kwara State, primary school pupils and students of post-primary schools, who reported for lectures, met empty classrooms.

Many school gates were left opened as the NUT picketing team ensured total compliance with the strike order.

Many students who did not return home directly had to convert open spaces into football fields.

The situation was the same in Oyo State where the schools were shut to students.

Apparently to foil the strike, the state government declared a three-day holiday and directed that the schools be shut within the period to enable students and their teachers observe the mid-term break.

Although students reported to their various schools, they however returned home when their teachers did not show up.

There was total compliance with the NUT directive in Osun State yesterday as public secondary and primary schools were shut.

In a statement by the state NUT Secretary-General, Wale Oyeniyi, teachers were asked to stay at home during the period of the strike.

The strike was also effective in Ondo State. When The Guardian went round some of the schools in Akure, the state capital, Oba-Ile, Idanre and Oda towns, their premises were desolate and deserted.

Although private nursery and primary schools did not join the strike, teachers and pupils in public schools stayed at home.

The state Secretary of NUT, Momodu Braimoh, said yesterday that there was no going back on the strike.

Academic activities were also paralysed in both public and private primary and post-primary schools in Zamfara State.

The strike forced pupils and students to remain in their homes despite the state government's call on parents to send their children to schools.

The state government had threatened to deal with any teacher that joined the action in the state.

The Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Sanda Danjari Kotorkoshi, sent the warning in a statement he issued yesterday.

The state chapter of the (NUT) in a statement signed by its Chairman, Jamilu Aliyu and Secretary, Saddiq Abdullahi Gobir, appealed to the teachers to join the strike.

Teachers in Anambra State also joined the strike. Most secondary schools' gates in Awka, the state capital and environs, were locked. Most teachers stayed away while candidates writing the (NECO) examinations were not allowed into the school compounds.

The state NUT Chairman, Mr. Anthony Ugozor, explained that all secondary schools complied with the union's order, adding that even the on-going NECO examinations were disrupted.

In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Secretary for Education, Alhaji Hussaini Halilu Pai, has appealed to the union to reconsider its stance on the strike.

Pai made the appeal in Abuja during a visit to the NUT office located in Gwagwalada where he pointed out that the FCT administration had done a lot to improve the welfare of its teachers.

Activities at the primary and post-primary schools in Enugu State were paralysed yesterday as teachers joined their counterparts across the country to observe the strike.

The gates of public primary and secondary schools were locked as the teachers stayed away from duty. Pupils and students, who reported for the day's work, were turned back. Those who did not leave were seen playing football in the premises.

In my views , i think the school teachers have the right to demand the implementation of the salary scheme for the deserve some decent incentive pages to motivate them.We often over look the consequencies of our action, no matter how obvious it seems.The root of the ruttenness in the education sector i must say is dew maily of the neglect of the welfare of the officials delegated with the responsibilities of education the populace.Why will a school official not collect bribe from students if his basic salary is something to write home about?,Why will the exam officiers them self collect bribe if they too have a good salary package?So what are we saying? That the initial salary scale was faulty or incorrect? or that it is too much for the staff?
I my humble opinion , i would suggest that leadership do something that would reverse the already fallen standard of the education sector before it hit rock bottom.

Nigeria and the poverty index,What is wrong

2008-06-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

Today the 10th of June 2008,I read an article in the Nigerian national daily , Guardian Newspaper and i was completely disappointed by the state in which we still find ourselves. We have lived with the impression of being the king of Africa but it still baffles me what really it was that we are holding on to that is giving the acclaimed impression.
below is an except from the paper
THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has expressed concern about the low quality of life among Nigerians, despite the “huge financial resources” available to all levels of
government in the country. Country Director of the global body, Turhan Saleh, while speaking at the opening of a High-Level Policy Workshop on State Budgetary and Fiscal Policy, held in Ondo town recently, said it is a thing of concern to the UNDP that the poverty index in Nigeria continues to rise even when “there is abundant opportunities in the country to turn the situation around.”
Although Saleh said the Nigerian situation is comparable to the challenges facing developing countries all over the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, he noted that “compared to all
these other countries, Nigeria has substantial resources to uplift the lives of its people.”
Particularly worrisome to the UNDP, apart from the high poverty level, according to Saleh, is
“the pathetic condition of the healthcare delivery situation in the country where we have, for
instance, one of the highest maternal mortality rate in the world with 300 deaths in 100,000
deliveries.”
The UNDP boss, however, said hope is not lost in the task of rebuilding the national economy
to solve the twin problem of poverty and disease if the country’s efforts at fighting these
scourge is refocused “with a view to promoting sustainable fiscal policy management across
the 36 states f the federation.”
Indeed we have an abundant resources but it still surprises me that we are not making any head way. there has been a lot of vision, in the past ,the likes of vision 2010 of which i recalled vividly that a national essay competition was organized on the way the best way to move the country forward. I must admit that i sent in an entry for the essay but not only did i get a feedback from the organizer , i also did not see or feel the impact of the goal of organizing that competition.

I have often discussed about this issue with my colleagues and i have consistently told them that yes we do have resources that if properly utilized could reposition our beloved country in a place we never thought we could be. That is sounding more like a poetry but it is a wish in the mind of every Nigerian. But the only problem i have observed with my beloved country is mismanagement or resources at the top level.

By this i mean mismanagement of resource allocation at both the federal and state level. i must admit that some of the personnel in positions of authority would want to see things done appropriately but the question is , How would a task as magnanimous as that be propagated by a single individual? it is suppose to be achieved by a collective effort of the people we have up there.

If we must do that them i think there should be a total renewal of our mentality, so that we can see clearly and feel strongly the need to move our country in the right direction rather than watch it go down the tube. I am a pragmatic person and i believe that if something can be achieved then it can be achieved.

Rather than come with visions unachievable, it is more appropriate to set a goal that is realistic, no matter how little it is.

Is WEAC Going down the tube? or what

2008-06-12T16:03:00.000-07:00

I recalled back in 1998 when i was getting ready to write the West African Examination Council Examination,it was like hell getting ready for the exam. The voluminous books one has to read,the lengthy hours at the library,the burning of candles at night and i must say that all these did have a significant impact in my life as a person. Because it made me to understand that the partway to success is not always strewn with red roses and that sometimes what you desire does not always come that easy. With this backdrop ,i have realized now that i could lay my hand on anything i want to do with the accumulated zeal to get what i want and that has helped me all through my college days.

Today i sit back and ask myself this question. It really for nothing that one has to labour so had to get something when at the moment you do not have to do that anymore.

Education in nigeria is going down the tube and every day it get worst than the previous day.I have witnessed what i called the greatest mass corruption in the education sector, not only by the students who are writing the exams but also the so called officials who are suppose to be responsible for the administering of the exams. For goodness sake how can the a student who has exam in three days time has access to the exam question papers three days before the exam? How can an official whose civic duty is to maintain law and order use his office as a revenue generation by asking the student to contribute some amount of money for him to let then look answers to the exam questions in their textbooks? How can the school official connive with exam official to allow the student cheat in the exam hall.? some many questions but too little answers.

If you ask me i think the whole thing is not only as a result of the fallen state of Nigeria, the education sector,the desperate need to make quick money and of course political.

It is revealed that most schools run post-secondary exam registration not necessarily to assisted the student who are out of school and needed to rewrite exams,but also to exploit them as well as build a false impression about the school in terms of the standard of the school and the quality of results it graduates possesses. This i found really absurd ,because the school is really not in anyway helping the student in anyway but encouraging them to be more mischievous than even the leaders we have today;Sorry to say that but it is true.

I must say that the standard of education in Nigeria is worst than abnormal and if nothing is done by the leaders in that sector , we all have graduates with excellent results but unproductive and backward in building the economy of our country.

What is needed in almost all the sector is a complete overhaul of its managements , but the problem is not how is this going to be achieved, but who are to replace then?