Worried by the plight of teachers following months of unpaid wages, youths under the auspices of Progressive Abia Youths, PAY, have asked Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu to discontinue with the school feeding programme and use the funds to clear the backlog of salary arrears owed teachers in the state.
The youths who took the position at a press conference in Umuahia argued that it made no sense spending millions of Naira monthly to feed students while their teachers are owed.
“We request that the school feeding program, gulping hundreds of millions of our revenue, be suspended and the resources be channeled to the payment of teachers’ salaries.
“It doesn’t make sense to feed school children when their teachers are owed. School is not an eatery; it’s a place for learning and the priority is on education, not eating or feeding as you call it.”
President of the non-partisan youth body, Kingsley Ekejiuba, said that Abia youths had decided to come together for the first time, and champion the cause of good governance.
The youths in a 13-point communiqué, expressed concern over the backlog of salary arrears owed staff of Abia State University, Abia Polytechnic and Abia College of Education Technical Arochukwu, respectively, and urged the Governor to declare a state of emergency on the education sector to save it from total collapse.
“Sadly, accumulation of salaries in the public education sector is now a norm in Abia State with over 60 months (5+ years) of cumulative salary arrears owed to lecturers and other staff,
