By Faith Igbudu
Benue State Commissioner of Education, Prof. Dennis Ityavyar, has called on unions in the state to partner with government for development, by always towing the part of dialogue in seeking redress to their grievances.
The commissioner stated this in his office in Makurdi, recently, when he played host to the EXCO, members of Senior Staff Associations of Tertiary Institutions in Benue state (SSATIBS).
According to him, the educational sector has been hit due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which led to shutting down of schools for almost a year. He noted that with the wasted time, the government is not willing to see any union in the sector go on strike .
He said every component in education is important and none is superior to the other, saying as such, government places high value on every sector, assuring SSATIBS that every challenge of the union will be addressed.
“I call on SSATIBS not to go on strike, give me the next two weeks to look into the issue,” he said.
Earlier, State Chairman of the union, Comrade Moses Dzaayem, said the union embarked on the visit to officially make their complaints known to the government over the non implementation of the new retirement age of 65 for their members while the teaching staff enjoy same.
He explained that even though the state is in receipt of a circular extending retirement age for staff of tertiary institutions, the union is being sidelined under the guise that it is a non teaching arm of institutions in the state, a situation the union is not comfortable with.
