Gov. Zulum Assures NLC He will Not Sack Borno Unqualified Teachers

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, on Wednesday confirmed to the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, that he will not sack the 11, 790 unqualified teachers in the state.

Zulum spoke when Labour officials led by the NLC Chairman in Borno State, Yusuf Inuwa, paid him a visit.

During the meeting, the officials thanked the Governor for his commitment to the welfare of workers and also called his attention to other areas that include payments and promotion benefits.

Speaking further at the meeting, Zulum said he had approved the payment of N30,000 minimum wage to 5, 439 teachers of the Local Education Authority, LEA, who passed competency test.

The governor told the NLC that since the assessment committee had found that out of 11, 790 unqualified teachers, there are 7,975 teachers representing 46.3% who are trainable, the state will soon support the first batch of 1,000 to further their education through a special in-service facility that would enable the teachers to go back to tertiary schools as full-time students while getting their monthly salaries.

Zulum said, however, that the 7,975 unqualified teachers would only be enlisted for minimum wage after completing their education and becoming qualified to teach.

At the meeting with NLC’s leadership, Governor Zulum also directed the submission of a comprehensive list of all existing vacancies and eligible civil servants preparatory to a promotional exam to be held.

Zulum promised to look into all other issues raised by the labour leaders and also promised to work with chairmen towards engaging some consultants to manage the payroll systems of local government councils.

The NLC Coordinator, however, appreciated Governor Zulum for his commitment to the welfare of workers in the state.

Inuwa made special note of the governor’s payment of 2020 and 2021 leave grants to entitled workers, as well as constant payment of monthly salaries, pensions, and significant progress made on gratuities.

The NLC however appealed to the state government on outstanding issues that include promotion arrears and arrears for re-verified local government staff and LEA teachers as well as minimum wage for local government and LEA staff.