Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has approved the raising of the bar of graduate teachers in primary schools in the State on level 14 to level 15.
He disclosed this yesterday at a meeting with heads of primary school teachers under the umbrella of Association of Primary Schools Headteachers of Nigeria (AOPSHON) at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan, on Monday.
The Governor also promised that the State Government would commence payment of backlogs of outstanding allowances and pension for retired primary school teachers in the State with effect from this month.
Governor Ajimobi said a committee comprising representatives of the affected retired primary schools teachers and representatives of the State Government would work out modalities to be used for the payment, adding that the recommendations of the committee should be submitted by the end of this week.
He explained further that pending the outcome of the case instituted against those who siphoned the state pension fund, the State Government had made new arrangements for the payment of pension for the affected primary school retired teachers.
It would be recalled that some civil servants in the Local Government Pensions Board are currently facing trial for allegedly embezzling retired primary schools pension to the tune of N5.6billion.
Governor Ajimobi directed the State Universal Basic Education to put in place necessary arrangement to ensure that backlogs of running grants to some schools be paid as soon as possible, adding that rural allowance would also be introduced for teachers residing in urban areas but teaching in the rural areas to encourage such teachers in their performances.
He reiterated the commitment of his administration to the welfare of teachers in the State, describing primary school teachers as foundation for quality education.
He noted that the Government had rehabilitated quite a number of dilapidated schools, just as it had continued to build new ones, in line with the education policy and transformation agenda of his administration.
In his remarks, the state chairman of AOPSHON, Alhaji Bolaji Adeleke, said that teachers in the state had never had it so good as salaries and allowances of teachers are now being paid as when due.
He also said that teachers had continued to enjoy capacity building, as a lot of them had attended various seminars and lectures which he said had enhanced the performance of teachers in the State.
Also speaking, the chairman of the State Universal Primary Education Board, Dr Busari Adebisi commended the Ajimobi-led administration for the development of education in the State adding that the board had facilitated the rehabilitation of classrooms, provision of computers for schools and quarterly training for teachers.
Oyo State Government Press Release
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