Disengaged Anambra Teachers Protest In Awka, Appeal To Soludo

Some teachers who were enagaged by the Parent-Teachers Association in Anambra State, Tuesday, protested their disengagement by Gov Chukwuka Soludo.

The affected teachers were converted to permanent staff by the state ministry of education.

Soludo recently carried out a reorganisation of the teaching sector of the state to be more result-oriented.

The protesting teachers barricaded the entrance to the state House of Assembly in Awka during the protest.

Some of their placards had the inscriptions: “Give us back our jobs”?; “Why terminate our appointments after seven months of work without pay?”; “We met the criteria; we were duly employed. Please reinstate us”; “Gov Soludo reconsider your stand”; “Assembly please intervene and help save our jobs”.

One of the protesters, Uche Eze, said, “Some of us had worked for over 10 years before the last administration decided to hold a recruitment and conversion exercise to make us permanent staff.

“About 1,000 of us were shortlisted, and we got our appointment letters in November 2021 to resume fully, but for over seven months, we have not been paid, and we have just been told that our appointments have been terminated.

“We were asked to go and re-apply in the ongoing online teachers’ recruitment. This is not fair. We were not paid off and we are stranded because they are sending us back to the labour market after we were duly employed.”

The speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon Uche Okafor, told them that, “We have heard your complaints and appeals. As your representatives in the Assembly, we are your ears and mouthpiece, so whatever affects you affects us.

“I want to assure you that we will speak for you by taking this matter to the governor and discuss it, so that you get that which is duly yours.”