Volunteer teachers storm Enugu Assembly

Primary school teachers under the aegis of Enugu State Volunteer Teachers Association, ESVTA, have protested the non- absorption of their members into what they called fresh volunteer teachers into the primary school education sector.

The volunteer teachers who came out in their numbers besieged the Enugu State House of Assembly complex yesterday with placards indicating that they are not happy that their members were not absorbed in ten local government areas of the state out of the seventeen local governments that made up Enugu state.

With placards that read: “We rescued education sector from collapsing due to deaths and retirement; we have suffered for our state; we have undergone several training workshops, etc, the angry teachers displayed what they felt was an injustice that some of their members have been marginalized.

The local governments that have benefited in the just concluded recruitment of over 2000 primary school teachers conducted by the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board, ENSUBEB, include Nkanu West, Oji River, Aninri, Isi-Uzo, Ezeagu, Igbo-Eze North and Igbo-Etiti leaving the ten others behind.

According to the chairman of the volunteer teachers, Mr. Chibuike Ani, who was accompanied by the assistant chairman, Mr. Julius Igwe and the Secretary, Mr. Livinus Ikwunne, ENSUBEB have called for Bio-Data of volunteer teachers in the state but on arrival, “we were told that the exercise was not for all volunteer teachers. On further inquiries, we were made to understand that it was for 7 local government areas recently disengaged,” the chairman laments.

The chairman who had earlier written Gov. Ugwuanyi on the issue, “a passionate appeal Re: Absorption of all fresh volunteer teachers in to the primary education sector,” pleaded that justice should be done so that all the fresh volunteer teachers in the entire 17 local government areas of the state be absorbed.

It can be recalled that the last administration led by former governor Sullivan Chime introduced the volunteer teachers scheme to fill up the gap after so many teachers retired and a new recruitment had not been done then.