Parents have called on the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Kuje Area Council to reach an amicable resolution to enable primary school pupils to resume classes in the area.
The parents, who made the call in separate interviews in Kuje, said the strike was having a negative impact on the pupils and appealed for a speedy resolution.
On Monday, primary school teachers in Kuje embarked on an indefinite strike over the failure of the area council to meet some demands of the NUT.
Through its chairman, Audu Lucky, the union listed the demands as the non-payment of salaries to 2018 recruited teachers whose salaries were abruptly stopped by the council chairman in September 2022.
“Submission of the agreed template of payment of LEA teacher’s arrears to the JAAC Secretariat and continuation of the payment to concerned teachers. Payment of salary to 2022 reabsorbed teachers, who have been working through January to December 2022 without salary,” Mr Lucky explained.
Sarah Luka, a Chukuku community parent, called on the union and the council chairman to convene and proffer adequate solutions to end the lingering teachers’ strike.
“Our children in public primary schools are losing their most active and creative time, while children in other Area Councils have resumed school. We make this call in the overriding interest of our children, but more particularly for the huge number of pupils in public schools in Kuje,” said Ms Luka.
Another parent in the Paseli area, Emmanuel Zaki, said, “Sadly, the children of wealthy people attend private schools or study abroad. They do not feel the distress and torment of ordinary parents. We also want to call for a law mandating State actors and their nuclear families to attend only public schools while in office.”
Silas Lagi, another parent in the Pegi area, feared that the strike could expose children to unwholesome activities, noting that “my only pain is that the people in government are not feeling it because their own children are not in public schools but in private schools.”
Meanwhile, the statement affirmed that the union had directed all primary school teachers in the area to stay away from their duty posts.
The Kuje Area Council has not reacted to the development, but it was gathered that the council would meet with the NUT leadership on Friday.
(NAN)