From Tony Osauzo, Benin
Chairman, Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Joan Oviawe, yesterday, said the primary school teachers in the state are among the best treated in the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Benin, Oviawe said in terms of remuneration, the take home pay for teachers was more than that of other average civil servants in the state. Oviawe who spoke against the background of the planned strike by primary school teachers in the state, said Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration was the most teacher-friendly in the country.
“There is no basis for the strike, the governor has done much for teachers. Edo State government does not have any issue with anybody, government has been very pro-teacher,” she said.
The SUBEB chairman, however, said only three local government councils in the state were owing primary school teachers allowances.
She said the board had trained 11,400 teachers in the last two years, stressing that Edo was the only state that had trained such high number of teachers in the country. She said community-based teachers would be recruited and trained this year.
Oviawe while debunking the claim that it cost the board about N1.5 million to train a teacher, pointed out that the cost of training a teacher was less than N5,000.