By Ernest Omoarelojie

On Monday, June 4, the nation woke up to the reality that her school children will again have to face the daunting experience of having to stay away from the classroom following calls by the teachers under the aegis of the National Union of Teachers, NUT, to embark on an indefinite strike.

The call, the body reasoned, became inevitable due to the delay by some states, Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Ogun, Sokoto and Zamfara, to meet teachers’ demands in paying the minimum wage and or the Teachers Enhanced Allowance, TSA.

In particular, the teachers are asking for the full implementation of the minimum wage and 27.5 per cent Teachers Enhanced Allowances, TSA. Since then, the children, mostly primary school pupils as it is the case with Edo State, have been at home as efforts by well meaning stakeholders have not yielded any positive result. But in justifying the strike, Michael Olukoya, NUT national president told the nation that governments of the states mentioned have shown no inclination towards sorting out the vexing issue.

“While some state governments, after much struggle, have come to terms with the provision of the agreement, it is regrettable that five years after, nine states are still in their season of prevarications,” he said. But if available information is anything to go by, it appears certain that Olukoya may not have been well briefed on the true situation in some of the states listed. The case in Edo State is instructive.

*Oshiomhole

Generally, it is not in any doubt that some of the states where teachers are on strike have substantially met the NUT demands. In particular, Edo State has and the facts speak for themselves. Indeed, besides being the first among the 36 states to fully pay the new N18,000 minimum wage, it also paid 17.5 per cent of the TSA having negotiated that full implementation will commence as quickly as it is able to sort out challenges facing its revenues.

It is important to note that as part of that arrangement, secondary school teachers refused to join the strike action. As was well reported in the media, the state government recently approved the full payment of the allowance to them leaving only their primary counterparts who refused to go back to the classroom.

A lot has been said by leadership of the striking teachers in the state about what they assume is going on. Unfortunately, most of their claims are geared towards giving the impression that the state government is to be blamed for their continuous refusal to go back to the classroom.

Specifically, the state is not serious about ending the strike as it has refused to hold any discussion with the teachers. For them therefore, it is certain that the state officials deliberately want children in the state to be out in the street since their own children are not affected, one way or the other. But for a state that has invested so much to revamp its education sector, that claim cannot but be a mischief calculated to blackmail, particularly, the governor.

The truth of the matter is that besides the governor’s avowed commitment to his position that every worker must be paid all entitlements, the state government has consistently called on the striking teachers to sheathe their swords for the purpose of meaningful negotiation that will result in the full payment of all their entitlements. In calling for a negotiated settlement, the state exercised no hesitation in literally putting its cards on the table by explaining the circumstances leading to the delay in paying the remaining 10 per cent.

Thus far, the teachers have refused all entreaties. This refusal has led some observers to reach the conclusion that the aim of some of the union’s leadership is simply to blackmail the governor. The reason is that teachers in some of the affected states have called off the strike after reaching an agreement to be paid 15 and 16 per cent respectively, less than the 17.5 per cent currently being paid by Edo State.

It is instructive to note that before the present disagreement, the state government had no problem paying the 27.5 per cent TSA. The challenge came when it was compelled to pay the N18,000 minimum wage. In agreeing to pay the minimum wage, it also had to contend with a higher TSA which is based on teacher’s percentage earnings.

For instance, if the salary of a teacher is N15,000 and 10 per cent is to be paid as TSA, it means that N1,500 which is 10 per cent of his salary, will be added to his take home. By the time his salary increases to N20,000, his take home will move from N16,500 to N22,000. The immediate implication, as the case is with Edo State is that the money that paid the full 27.5 per cent before the new wage bill came into force could now only pay for 17.5 per cent.

The situation was further compounded when another federal directive forced the states into reducing taxes.

Thus, besides the reduction in revenue brought about by increased expenditure (increased salary), internally generated revenue also went down. The only reasonable option was to negotiate an understanding with workers, including the teachers, to exercise patience. But asking for their understanding was only to the extent that the state will begin payment of the balance as soon as its revenue improved.

To underscore its seriousness to the education sector and indeed, the teachers themselves, the Edo State Government pays its teachers before any other of its employees. In addition, an average teacher in the state earns more than any of its other employees. That is besides the massive investment it laid out for improving the education sector in terms of better and quality academic environment.

For all intents and purposes, no government will commit as much investment if the overall desire is not to create a better deal for both the teachers and those they are employed to mentor. This alone, ought to impose on the teachers the need for a reciprocal obligation by, at least, exercising patience as the state government requested. In doing so, they would have created the impression that they have no intention of allowing selfish pecuniary considerations overshadow the general quest for the well being of the state itself. That much they owe to themselves and the children under their tutelage.