The Borno branch of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has called for insurance cover for teachers in both private and public schools in order to boost their morale for higher productivity.
The Chairman of the union, Malam Bulama Abiso, made the call at a rally on the abducted 230 students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in Maiduguri.
Represented by his Deputy, Malam Bako Lawal, the chairman said the insurance cover would further encourage teachers to give their best in the service of their fatherland.
He said government should also consider extending the insurance cover to students in both primary and secondary schools.
He added that “we are calling on government to consider introducing insurance cover to both teachers and students in Nigeria.
“This has become necessary, considering the vulnerable political environment in which we operate.’’
Abiso lamented that more than 100 teachers had been killed in Borno and Yobe by suspected insurgents in the last few years, leaving their wives and children to suffer.
He then urged the state government to fast tract the payment of death benefits to families of the affected teachers in Borno to reduce their families’ hardships.
He said the rally was aimed at sensitising the public on the issue of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls with a view to securing their safe return to their parents.
“We are telling Boko Haram to release our girls.
“We want our girls back safely to reunite with their parents,’’ the chairman said.
Responding, Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno thanked the NUT for the rally.
He commiserated with the union on the death of more than 100 teachers in insurgency attacks in the state and promised that government would strive hard to pay their next of kins their benefits.
He said the state government had paid individuals who lost their bread winners N250,000 each as token assistance in each suspected Boko Haram attack in the state.
Shettima said the money was not a compensation but a kind of support to the affected families.