NUT demands burial allowances for teachers

The chairman of FCT wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Stephen Knabayi, has demanded burial and repatriation allowances to be included in allowances for primary school teachers in the territory.

Knabayi spoke yesterday when he led members of the standing committee of the union on a visit to the FCTA Secretary of Education, Senator Isah Maina, in his office with the directors of UBEB and SEB and the board chairman in attendance.

He said in the event of the death of a teacher, the next of kin would apply for burial and repatriation allowances.

Knabayi said primary school teachers were not benefiting from the allowances but their secondary school counterparts were.

He added that there were still outstanding teachers’ promotion arrears across the six area councils which had not been cleared by the council authorities, and that there were so many teachers due for promotion this year.

“Teachers are demoralized because if they are promoted, they are motivated to do well, but when they are not promoted, just as it is now, they are demoralized, “ he told the education scribe.

He appealed to the education secretary to intervene in ensuring that the area council authorities did the needful in clearing the backlog of teachers promotion arrears.

In her contribution, the Director of the FCT Secondary Education Board (SEB), Mrs Nanre Emeje, said burial and repatriation allowances were entitlements of civil servants.

“But two or three years ago it was centralised to the human resources department. So as a matter of fact, the burial and repatriation expenses are now even very fast in processing and are a top priority of the management,” she said.

The education secretary, Senator Isah Maina, while responding, said the FCT administration had always given priority to ensuring that civil servants’ salaries were paid as at when due.

He assured the union that the pending teachers promotion arrears across the six area councils would be cleared as soon as the 2018 budget was passed.

“And on the issue of allowances, even though there is shortfall in revenue generation but we want to do better in 2018. And I want to assure the union that the commitments we are making today, we shall deliver on them,” he said.