Academic activities remained on hold for the seventh day at the Federal Science and Technical College, Orozo, in Abuja as the teachers continued their strike over crumbling facilities and other sundry issues. The workers, who started their strike Friday last week, staged a protest within the school premises on Wednesday over the refusal of the authorities to address their grievances.
When PREMIUM TIMES visited the school on Thursday, the students were seen playing about in the premises while their teachers gathered under a tree singing solidarity songs. Theresa Okukwe, a year one student of the school, told PREMIUM TIMES that the students had not been receiving lessons since Monday. “It is known everywhere that the teachers are on strike, so we’ve not been doing anything,” she said.
Olusegun Ilurunmi, a teacher of the school who is also the chairman of the Orozo unit of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, said the teachers were aggrieved that some teachers were transferred from the school and were not replaced as a result of which some departments do not have teachers while the others were being overworked. “Thirty-nine teachers and one vice principal were posted out of the school without being replaced and this has really affect some units of the school as they lack teachers,” he said. “Some units only have one teacher and the teacher must take the students from Year One to final year. Most times, the students end up doing practicals without theories for a week.
“Meanwhile, a teacher that transferred out of the school named Felix Ugwu still comes to supervise projects. There is a foul play,” he said. “The department of Brick, block laying and concreting has one teacher for year one, two and three while Introduction to building has no teachers to teach the students. A caterer in the kitchen who is not a teacher was asked to leave the kitchen and start taking the students the subject.” On the physical infrastructure of the school, Mr Ilurunmi said due to lack of a maintenance culture, the buildings had become dilapidated and nothing was being done about them. “The boys’ hostel is in bad shape and some of the classrooms are surrounded by heaps of sand, a refuse dump and mud. Planks are placed on the floor to access some classrooms.
Source: Premium times
