The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi has publicly announced his readiness to pay the N30,000 Minimum Wage for the entire workforce of the state.
The Governor made the announcement at the 2019 World Teacher’s Day Celebrations held at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State Capital on Saturday.
After hearing the announcement, the Teacher’s who converged at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium went wild in jubilation singing and praising the Governor for the decision.
Speaking further, Fayemi pledged that in a bid to employ new teachers into the workforce of Ekiti State, those who have attained the retirement age will be done away with.
This according to him has given birth to the new employment being carried out in the primary, secondary and technical educational sectors of the state recently.
Said Fayemi “with this, Ekiti will no doubt become the headquarters of the Education Sector in the entire Country. I can assure you that we will not renege on any of our promises. We will ensure all our promises to the people of the state are fulfilled”.
Fayemi equally used the event of the 2019 World Teachers’ Day Celebrations to announce the decision of his government to have approved projects monitoring vehicles for workers in the state as well as the approval for the distribution of Agricultural inputs to boost agricultural productivity and increase its interest in the minds of students. He promised to take the rehabilitation of the dilapidated structures in the state as priority.
Fayemi noted that a large chunk of money has been earmarked for the uplift of the Education sector in the state. He expressed his satisfaction at the distribution of 3,000 free JAMB forms in the state.
He identified his other achievements in the area of education as the resumption of the Ekiti State Principal’s Cup, payment of bursaries, training and retraining of teachers and regular payment of workers personal emoluments.
He accepted his readiness to approve loans for primary schools teachers in the state. “Ekiti State is collaborating with the German government to improve on our Technical Education. Two new Tutor Generals have been approved by me and they will be publicly announced in the coming week”, he stated.
In his welcome address, the state’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology in Ekiti State, Evangelist Foluso Daramola expressed his gratitude to the Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi for giving attention to the plight of teachers in the state despite lack of funds.
Foluso the last administration of Governor Ayodele Fayose presided over lack of motivation in the teachings – learning processes, absence of job satisfaction of the teachers in the state which was at its lowest ebb, lack of capacity building with inadequate instructional materials, lack of ample commitment on the part of the parents and guardians, increase in the rate of examination malpractices and lackadaisical attitude of teachers to work and duties.
Foluso praised the continuous commitment of the Fayemi’s administration towards rejuvenating, rekindling and revamping the comatose state of education inherited from Fayose.
The Commissioner expressed satisfaction with the Governor’s intervention in the area of infrastructural development, creation of a conducive learning atmosphere for students and pupils in public schools across the state, the state government’s improved welfare packages as well as provision of qualitative and functional education for every child in the state to make them globally competitive in the emerging world knowledge economy.
Daramola Foluso listed other achievements of the Fayemi-administration to include the prompt payment of teacher’s salaries and allowances; settlement of arrears of gratuities; approval of capacity building programmes for teachers in and outside the state; payment of the year 2019 WAEC fees for all the students in public secondary schools; payment of JAMB fees for qualified students; regular payment of bursaries and scholarships to deserving indigenous students; prompt payment of the feeding and maintenance grants to the three special schools in the state as well as the payment of the year 2019 WAEC and NECO registration fees for all the students with Disabilities in the three Special Schools.
While speaking at the occasion, the State Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teacher’s (NUT), Comrade Olugbesan demanded that the Governor should come to the rescue of the Ekiti Teacher’s by seeing to the implementation of the promotion of teachers for 2015, 2016 and 2017 without further delay; clearing of the outstanding leave bonuses and arrears of six months salaries of Primary School Teachers; the three months arrears of salaries owed both Secondary and Technical School Teachers; completion of the part payment of 2015 leave bonus paid; clearing of the payment of the leave bonuses for 2016, 2017 and 2018 owned during the last administration in the state.
In the same vein, the Chairman of the ASUSS in the state, Comrade Sola Adigun urged the state government to accede to the demands of the teachers in the state. Adigun frowned at the inability of the state government to clear the arrears of the teachers’ salaries owed them by the last administration.
Others present at the event included the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi; the Rt. Hon. Speaker, Hon. Funminiyi Afuye; the Chief of Staff, Mr. Biodun Omoleye; the Head of Service, Mr. Ayodeji Ajayi; Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Owolabi Joseph Bamidele; Mr. Michael Ayodele Ajimati, the Permanent Secretary, Teaching Service Commission;Hon. B.J. Abegunde, the Chairman, Teaching Service Commission; Professor Francisca Aladejana, the Executive Chairman, SUBEB; Hon. Kayode Babade, the Chairman, Board on Technical and Vocational Education (BTVE); Mr. Fabamise M. Olusesan, the Permanent Secretary for Ekiti SUBEB among others.
Packaged by Emmanuel Adeniran
