By joshua 
AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY THE KOGI STATE CHAIRMAN, ACADEMIC STAFF
UNION OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS (ASUSS) NIGERIA – COMRADE OJO, RANTI MATTHEW ON THE OCCASION OF A SPECIAL SCWC MEETING TO MARK ‘THE 2021 WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY CELEBRATION IN LOKOJA, KOGI STATE, ON TUESDAY, 5′” OCTOBER 2021.
Protocols !!!
INTRODUCTION:
On behalf of the National President, Comrade Samuel Omaji, the National Administrative Council (NAC), Kogi State Administrative Council (SAC), State Central Working Committee (SCWC) of Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) Kogi State Chapter and the entire Secondary School Teachers in Kogi State, I want to welcome you all to the day set aside globally to celebrate Teachers for their great contribution to the society.
This year’s celebration just like last year is peculiar and memorable because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which completely upturned and reshuffled the entirety of human activities on the face of the earth in a very dramatic manner.
BRIEF BACKGROUND
The World Teachers’ Day is held annually on 5″ October since 1994, to mark the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. This
Recommendation sets benchmarks as regards the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. The Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel was adopted in 1997 to complement the 1966 Recommendation by covering teaching and research personnel
in higher education.
With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals 4 on education, and the dedicated target (SDGs 4.c) recognizing teachers as key to the achievement of the Education 2030 agenda, World Teachers” Day has become the occasion to mark progress and reflect on ways to counter the remaining challenges for the promotion of the teaching profession.
THEME
The theme for this year’s World Teachers’ Day celebration as presented by the United Nations (UNESCO) is “TEACHERS AT THE HEART OF EDUCATION RECOVERY?”. This theme is apt considering the determined and diligent efforts of teachers in the crucial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. As we are all aware, the Covid-19 pandemic brought so many setbacks to every sector of the world. However, teachers, with their ingenuity prevented the total collapse of the education system at
the onset of the pandemic. As the world is new battling to recover from all its negative impacts, the recovery of the Education sector is germane if other sectors must recover fully. And, teachers being a critical factor in the effective and efficient teaching and learning process is indispensable in the education recovery. Therefore, teachers being at the heart of education recovery, must themselves also recover from all the negative impacts of the Covid-19 and all other challenges that have been militating against their optimal performance over the years.
Colleagues and distinguished guests, we want to use the privilege of this occasion, once again for the umpteenth time, to call on Kogi State Government to urgently address all the issues raised below to put us in good position to be able to drive and accelerate the much and desperately needed recovery in the Secondary Education Sector of our dear State. It is painful that some of these issues have remained
outstanding for many years despite our year-in-year-out calls, and have been impacting negativel many ways, on the performance of our duties and the outcomes of our endeavors.
SHORTAGE OF TEACHERS IN OUR SCHOOLS
Distinguished guests and respected colleagues, we will be failing ourselves as a union, failing beloved students in particular and the society in general, if we shy away from presenting the challe of abysmal shortage of teachers in our schools as it is. For more than a decade ago our union has been decrying the colossal shortage of teachers in our secondary schools. For record purpose the recruitir of teachers In the secondary school sector by the administration of Governor Ibrahim Idris 2003-2 for STTEB was 1500 science teachers in 2009 and for TSC was in 2005. Similarly, during the wee days of Governor Idris Wada’s administration in 2015, he employed 500 hundred teachers which the pres administration failed to recognized and expunge from the payroll despite all the appeal made by
union. This problem of shortage of teachers, in our opinion has attained a pandemic status as a resul the fallouts of the various screening exercise which led to the exit of teachers from classrooms due massive compulsory retirement inflicted on the sector. It was in this regard that we applauded and commended the initiative of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of the State in approving
recruitment of 3700 teachers shortly before the Kogi State Governorship election in November 20 But as it stands today, the recruitment exercise has not seen the light of the day since His Exceller won his election. We are therefore pained and disillusioned, and are using this occasion to passionat appeal to His Excellency to direct the STETSCOM to reactivate the process of recruitment of | approved 3700 teachers and more. We must all be reminded that playing politics with education tantamount to playing politics with the future of our students and children, and this will on the long r have grave consequence on the society as ‘what goes around surely must come around’. If Kogi St must actually return to her pride of place in the Northern Nigeria educationally, recruitment of mc teachers Is critical and urgent.
NEW MINIMUM WAGE AND WORKERS’ WELFARE
We wish to unequivocally commend Your Excellency for prompt payment of salary to State worker However, we want to reiterate that life indeed has become unbearable for an average Nigerian work including teachers in Kogi State because of the dichotomy between the current N18,000= Nation Minimum Wage being paid in the state vis-a-vis its usefulness in the market environment, Therefor the immediate implementation of the New Minimum Wage of N30,000= in Kogi State is not on justifiable but also expedient.
Your Excellency, to worsen the predicaments of Kogi Workers, we contend with the new implementation of promotions and annual increment for many years at the state and local governme levels; the non-implementation of subsisting arrangement of payment of Leave Bonus with prior
attention to Teaching Service Commission (TSC) on their outstanding 2013 leave Bonus as contained
the agreement of January, 2016; all these and other array of challenges are mitigating against the productivity of teachers in the state and have continued to erode the dignity of Kogi teachers. There therefore, an urgent need for Your Excellency to look into these issues especially the cash-backing to promotions already earned by workers and the payment of their leave bonuses.
DOMESTICATION OF ELONGATION OF TEACHER’S RETIREMENT AGE
The Federal Executive Council at its meeting of Wednesday, 20″ January, 2021 approved 65 years 40 years as the retirement age and years of service respectively for teaching Profession at Basic and Secondary Education levels and the implementation of this new scheme is with e from 1“ January, 2021. This council’s decision which gave backing to Mr. President’s pronounce during 2020 World Teachers’ Day celebration held on the 5″ October, 2020 was contained in a Fe “Government circular Ref No: FME/IRM/S.234/1 dated 26″ January, 2021. Your Excellency, education-friendly Governor who always demonstrate uncommon passion for education, the Organized Labour appeal to you to grant approval to the Domestication of New Teacher’s Retirement age in primary and secondary schools from 35 years of Length of Service and 60 years of Age to 40 yex Length of Service and 65 years of Age in the State.
DILAPIDATED INFRASTRUCTURE AND LACK OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL OUR SCHOOLS
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, a trip to many of our schools, especially those jn thareas will present an awful sight of the state of infrastructure that have remained dilapidated over years. We cannot but paint the gloomy picture of over 90% of our schools, where laboratories are existent, libraries are without books and where there are books, the books are out of date, instructional materials are no longer known as part of school’s necessities and sports and extracurricular act have for long been forgotten as part of school’s routine. Furniture for teachers and even princips broken often times, teachers are seen sitting on chairs and tables supported with stones or improvised objects, We are therefore seizing the opportunity presented to us today to once again our call on government to, as a matter of urgency declare a state of emergency in secondary education in the State to steer it away from the precipice where it is now heading. We have been making the Appeal yearin-year-out, yet no government has deemed it necessary to give us attention, We make it again today believing that this government that has Education as one of its thematic area of focus urgently take steps to do the needful.
We are also calling on other stakeholders such as Old Students, Community Development Assoc Corporate Organisations/Institutions and wealthy individuals to come to the aid of our school in intervening and contributing to the infrastructural and instructional development of the schools.
PAYMENT OF GRATUITIES
We appreciate Your Excellency for prompt payment of pension as well as the release of Onc | Million naira (N100,000,000=) monthly for the settlement of gratuity at the State level. Howe observed that payment of pratuities continue to accumulate to the extent that those who retir service ten years ago could not access their benefits, even the N100,000 being paid monthly, c reach some. In view of this we appeal for increase in the monthly allocation of fund for this Equally, we encourage government to approach the capital market to obtain loan for onward payment of Gratuities, while repayment shall be on the terms and conditions agreed upon,
‘THE GROWING CASES OF ADOPTION OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
SCHOOLS
The cases of invasion of schools for the adoption of students and teachers have been on tl recent times all over. the country especially-in-the north. However, we give glory to God for His protection over our schools in Kogi State: But we feel it is very necessary we be proactive to secure environment of our schools. We are therefore recommending that a special directive to all the security agencies to secure all our secondary schools especially those with boarding. We urged for stakeholders to brainstorm and map out strategies for the protection of our secondary schools in the State.
CONTRIBUTORY PENSION SCHEME AND HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME
AS a critical stakeholder on the -issues_of-workers’ welfare in Kogi State,-the ASUSS- aligned with Organized Labour to applaud the State Government’s initiatives on the above schemes and all the position of Organized Labour on the schemes that His Excellency will use your good office to urgently address the issue of the implementation of New National Minimum Wage of (Thirty thousand Naira) N 30,000= in order to ensure early take off of these laudable schemes aimed at guaranteeing health security of workers and also enhance workers productivity and efficiency.
CONCLUSION
We apologise to our members who retired between October 2019 and September this ‘year for our inability to send them forth as has been our practice. It is due majorly to the paucity of funds by the dwindling of our resources as a result of massive exit of our members from service, economic situation of the country which has led to skyrocketed prices of goods is also another reason that has kept us away from our desire of having a befitting sent-forth for our retired membe your indulgence to be patient with us, as we promise to do the needful in due course.
We are grateful to all our guests for honouring us with their presence and celebrating Teachers’ Day despite the fact that it is devoid of the normal fun fare. We are grateful to tutors of Kogi State who have shown support and commitment to the ideals of our great. We appeal to you to remain steadfast and resolute as the battle for our self-determination is not yet completely over. We urge you to keep praying, and be prepared to respond to any of our physical participation in the struggle, should the need arises. On our part we pledge to use
at our disposal, and our strength to keep the fire of’ the struggle for our emancipation as a Union in this State and in Nigeria in general. We promise now as always, never to betray the confidence you have reposed in us as we struggle to achieve better welfare for us all.
Finally, I wish you all a happy celebration of the 2021 World Teachers’ Day, a safe journey to your respective homes after the ceremony, and long life to witness the next celebration by the Mercy of God.
Thank you for listening.
Long Live ASUSS Long Live Kogi State Long Live Nigeria
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