A’Ibom Shifts Schools’ Resumption to September 29

State NUT says no until demands are met Bayelsa govt, teachers on warpath over resumption
Segun James in Yenagoa and Okon Bassey in Uyo

The Akwa Ibom State Government yesterday officially shifted the resumption date of public and private schools in the state by one week.
The state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Atim Atai, yesterday announced that schools across the state would now resume for the first term of the 2014/2015 session on September 29 against the earlier date of September 22.

However, in Bayelsa State, the state government and the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) are now on collision course over the resumption date for schools in the state until certain conditions to prevent the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) are put in place by the government.

Following the new development, Atai urged school heads and students to adhere strictly to the new re-opening date.

Although no reason was given for the September 29 resumption date, THISDAY gathered that it might not be unconnected with none provision of the anti-Ebola virus medical kits for schools across the state as well as the inability of the state government to meet the demands of the state chapter of the NUT.

Speaking with THISDAY, the state Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State NUT, Etetim Ukpong said teachers in the state were already posed for strike because the state government had not met their demands.

He said before the intervention by the federal government on the new date for schools to resume across the country due to the outbreak of EVD, there were plans on ground by the state chapter of NUT to stop schools from opening in the state.

According to him, the rights of the teachers still being withheld by the state government might seriously hampers schools’ resumption in the state on the new date fixed by government.

The state NUT boss disclosed that the state government was owing primary school teachers in the state their entitlement, including NUT dues, leave grants, promotion arrears, pension and gratuity of retired teachers among others.

He said even when the government had started responding to their demands by first paying primary school’s teachers salary up to the month of August, 2014 as well as paid three out of the four months arrears of dues owed the union, schools will not resume unless the remaining demands are made.

Meanwhile, in Bayelsa State, the teachers are insisting that it would only be wise that they be trained and sensitised on Ebola virus before they would honour the September 29 resumption date announced by the state government.

The state Chairman of NUT, Mr. Ogola Brandla, said members of the NUT were still waiting to participate in the training designed to equip teachers with the knowledge of preventing the spread of the deadly EVD in schools.

He insisted that the training of teachers was the only way of protecting schools from EVD, noting that the schools will remain shut until the training is carried out
But the State Commissioner for Education, Mr. Salo Adikumo, insisted that there was no going back on the resumption date of September 29.

“We have trained people across the state and I can tell you that we have put in place a lot of things on ground to prevent the virus.

“Why must it be teachers? The important thing is that people have been trained. It must not be teachers. The people we trained are human beings. We used the staff of the ministry of health to conduct the exercise across the state”, he said.
Also, it was observed that some private schools in the state capital defied the directives from the state government and resumed on Monday.

One of the parents who identified himself as Okoro said: “It is very bad that some schools rushed to open even when the government is cautious. I think they should be sanctioned. They are curious for monetary gains forgetting that the lives of children are involved.

“I cannot allow my children to go to school until government announces a resumption date because the government must have a valid reason for saying that schools should remained closed.”

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