Plans by the Imo State government to reopen schools has suffered a setback after teachers in the state vowed not to reopen schools amidst the coronavirus pandemic. 

According to Punch, the chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers in the state, Philip Nwanshi, who spoke with journalists in Owerri, on Wednesday said that the state had done nothing in settling their arrears of salaries The NUT chairman said despite meeting with the state governor, Hope Uzodinma, the state government had refused to offset the arrears of salaries.

 He said Uzodimma had in a meeting with NUT some months ago promised to clear arrears of salaries owed to teachers. Nwanshi complained that up till the first week of September salaries of about 2000 teachers in the state had not been paid for about seven months. He said 

“In Ngor Okpala LGA, no primary school teacher has received salary since March this year.

In Owerri West and other LGAs also, many teachers are yet to receive their salaries.“There is no way you can tell me that what is holding their salaries is BVN and the banks. We cannot believe that. You cannot tell me that the papers of all the teachers in Ngor Okpala are wrong.

“What we’re saying is that if every teacher does not get salaries up to date and if the union does not get its check-off dues, there is no possibility of schools reopening in Imo State.“The union has not been running since March and the government is deducting the check-off dues and not remitting the same to the union. And if we don’t react, our members will never have full confidence in us anymore.

They’ll think we’ve compromised.”