Over 1,700 academic staff members of Unity Schools from the 110 Unity Colleges have cried out over the failure of the federal government to pay them three years’ salary arrears.
The aggrieved teachers, in an open letter addressed to the permanent secretary and the minister of education, urged the federal government to immediately pay them the salary arrears.
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UNITY TIMES reports that the teachers were recruited into the service in 2018, 2019, and 2020 and haven’t been paid any remuneration since their appointment into the service.
According to them, the non-payment of salaries was attributed to many factors, especially, the delay in Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System platform capturing.
“In our collective resolve, we are requesting for the payment of our long overdue arrears.
“As teachers we have not forgotten our role as moulders of society. However, we cannot mould the future of our nation with a dampened morale due to hunger, backlog of salary arrears and poor welfare,” they said.
They called for speedy dislodgement of bureaucratic bottlenecks that may delay the movement, verification, and approval of files for payment, saying that payment of arrears of this category should begin in earnest considering the biting economic hardship and inflation rate in the country.
“We make this solemn ‘Save Our Souls’ plea in utmost regard for your highly esteemed office and earnestly seek your speedy intervention in alleviating our plight within the shortest possible frame,” the teachers said.