Teachers threaten to boycott classes over unpaid salaries

Some teachers in public schools in Kwara on Wednesday said they may start boycotting classes if the two months salaries owed them were not paid.

The teachers, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews across the state, expressed worry at the development.

In Kosubosu, headquarters of Baruten Local Government Area, the affected teachers described their current situation as `` life threatening.’’

They urged government at both the state and federal level to intervene in order to ameliorate their plight. A teacher, Mr Ismail Issa, berated the state government over the non payment of their salaries. He said government was unfair in its disposition to teachers’ welfare, saying education remains the bedrock of society.

Issa said the situation may degenerate further if attention was not immediately focused on sourcing funds to pay workers. He added that teachers might start to boycott classes in order to explore other sources of earning a livelihood.

Teachers, who spoke with NAN at Omu-Aran, the headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area, also expressed worry over the non - payment of their salaries.

The teachers, who declined to mention their names and schools, said they were unhappy at the unfolding scenario.

The respondents described the development as unprecedented, expressing the hope that the new administration in the country would make funds available for payment of salaries.

At the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) office in Ilorin which supervises the schools, no official was willing to comment on the development. One of the workers in the premises, who spoke with NAN, however, expressed surprise at the complaints of the teachers. He claimed that other staff of the board had also not been paid.

But Dr Muyideen Akorede, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, attributed the development to the shortfall in allocation to the state and local governments from the Federation Account. According to Akorede, there was a significant drop in federal allocation to Kwara in May, adding that the state suffered a shortfall amounting to N2.8 billion.

The governor’s aide added that the state government had been augmenting teachers’ salary with over N200 million monthly in the last one year. He, however, expressed government’s determination to meet its obligation to the people of the state, including the workers.