5, 000 deduction meant to produce technologically ID – Taraba NUT Chair

By Andrew Ojih, Jalingo.

The Chairman, Taraba state chapter of the union of teachers, Comrade Solomon Nathan on Monday clarified that the five thousand naira the union was deducting from teachers arrears was meant to facilitate the production of a technologically secured identification card for primary school teachers across the state.

Nathan who stated this while speaking to state wing executive council in Jalingo said they was a decision reached by the State Working Executive Group (SWEG) after consultations with teachers at the branch level.

He noted that the initiative was conceived because the union had yet to establish an accurate and authentic database of teachers in primary schools.

According to him, the decision to deduct N5,000 from teachers’ arrears was reached on March 26, 2024, with the objective of capturing the details of every primary school teacher and producing an identification card with security features capable of preventing forgery.

“On the issue of N5,000 deduction, this was not an individual decision. It was a collective decision of the SWEG. After consultations with teachers at the branch level, we came up with the idea because professional teachers in primary schools are faced with a lot of challenges.

One of the challenges is that, until today, the SWEG has not gotten the accurate total number of teachers in primary schools. So, we agreed in 2024, precisely on March 26, that we were going to have an authentic ID card with scientific features that would capture all the details of a teacher” noted.

He explained that the proposed identification system would enable the union and government to establish a reliable database of teachers and make it difficult for non-teachers or impostors to obtain teachers’ identification cards.

He added that the deduction would only be made after the payment of teachers’ outstanding arrears, stressing that the funds were not being diverted for personal use.

The NUT chairman also linked the proposed database to discrepancies discovered in a register of teachers presented during a meeting between Governor Agbu Kefas and teachers at the Banquet Hall.

He said the discrepancies in the number of schools and teachers listed made it difficult for the government to release funds intended to support teachers’ self-help initiatives.

“It will surprise you to hear that the total number of schools presented on the register was more than the number of principals and headteachers. That made it impossible for His Excellency to actually release the money he wanted to give you for self-help” he stressed