Mbah inaugurates committee on N30,000 minimum wage payment to teachers in Enugu

Peter Mbah, governor of Enugu, has set up a committee on the implementation of N30,000 minimum wage to primary school teachers in the state.

Theophilus Odo, chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Enugu chapter, made the announcement on Thursday during the 2023 World Teachers’ Day celebration.

Odo said he is a member of the committee, and thanked the governor for the gesture.

Speaking on the theme for this year’s celebration, “The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage”, the NUT chairman said there is a  need for the re-ordering of a new value system.

“There is the need for re-ordering the societal value system, such as stewardship, steadfastness, commitment to service, and sincerity which an ideal teacher epitomises,” Odo said.

“It is this kind of moral vision against the false value of acquisitive, oppressive and exploitative society that will awaken Nigeria teachers to their duties and responsibilities to the nation, as it was in the past.”

Odo added that there is a need for the recruitment of new teachers in the state and the release of outstanding promotion of those in the service.

He also demanded the payment of outstanding leave allowances to teachers in both primary and post-primary schools in the state.

“We also demand for donation of an 18-seater bus to the union for ease of movement, as the ones donated by successive governments can no longer travel beyond Enugu metropolis because they are old,” he said.

The NUT chairman urged parents, students and society to accord teachers their due respect, adding that “honour should be given to whom honour is due”.

He condemned situations where teachers “were beaten” up in the presence of their students and guardians, saying it was “most unfortunate”.

“Teachers themselves should see commitment to service and hard work as their watchword and be guided at all times by the ethics of the profession,” he said.