Cross sections of parents that have children in the FCT-owned primary schools, which are currently closed due to teachers’ strike, are now searching for affordable private schools in their localities.
Abuja Metro reports that pupils of the FCT-owned primary schools have been at home since March due to the strike declared by their teachers over N70,000 national minimum wage as well as other arrears, which the six area councils’ chairmen are owing them.
In April, the councils commenced the payment of the new wage but the teachers refused to return to the classrooms, insisting that the chairmen must settle their arrears, which they said had accumulated to seven months.
Since then, the pupils have been at home seven weeks to the third term academic calendar.
Abuja Metro further reported that the pupils did not sit for the second term examinations as a result of the strike.
Parents seek affordable private schools
Meanwhile, a cross section of parents spoken to in Bwari at the weekend said they are now looking for private schools that they could afford.
Mrs Ifeoma James, a petty trader at the Bwari main market, said she went to a school in the Sabon-gari area of the town to enquire about their fees on Friday.
According to her, she will be enrolling the kids at the school on Monday.
Mrs Agnes Osabor, her neighbour at the market, said she had already withdrawn her two children from the Science Pilot School in Bwari and enrolled them at a private school, close to her house at SCC Road in the town.
‘’I have three children in the school but I can only afford to pay for two of them now. I have told their father, who is working in Kaduna about this. The other one will continue to wait for when God will touch their hand and open the schools back.’’
A parent at Kubwa, a satellite town in Bwari Area Council, Mallam Usman Dende, has four children in two public primary schools in the town and all of them have been at home since.
He said, ‘’My wife and I went to search for a private school we can afford but we could not find any in our area. Some one directed us to the Byazin area, which we are planning to go there on Friday but the problem now is the even if we get, what about the transport from our area. It is complicated my brother.’’
A parent in the Pegi area of Kuje, Alhaji Hussaini Umar, said he withdrew his two kids from the primary schools in the area last week and had enrolled them at a private school at a moderately affordable cost.
He said, ‘’I took the decision after extensive discussion with my wife and older children. At this moment that is our best option because these children have been at home for nothing. We know it is going to affect us because now we can buy ram from the Eid-el-Kabri sacrifice.’’
A parent at Kado-kuchi in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Jamila Mohammed, said she all efforts to get an affordable private school for her kids had so far yielded no result.
She said the family could not afford the bills they are giving them, adding that the children will have to remain at home till the strike is called off.
Strike will be over soon-Wike
Meanwhile, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has assured that the ongoing strike by the teachers in the public primary schools in the territory would soon be called off.
He spoke after his recent projects’ inspection in Abuja.
He said though, the teachers are directly under the area councils, the administration would intervene and resolve the crisis as soon as possible.
