Roles Of NUT In Educational Development Of Ebonyi State
Roles Of NUT In Educational Development Of Ebonyi State
“Today we come from Lagos an from neighbouring towns but the union we are inaugurating now will soon grow into such a mighty organisation with branches in all the important towns in Nigeria, that we shall have to flash messages by numerous telegrams to all component units”. This statement was made on the 8th day of July 1931 by Rev. I.O. Ransom Kuti who consequently was the founder of NUT, (UT study circle material 1999: 10).
The outcome of the result of the above statement was the formation and inauguration of the Nigeria Union of Teaches. The Nigeria Union of Teachers which shall be subsequently referred to as NUT. It was the first trade union to be formed and registered in Nigeria. It was founded in 1931 as an organisation of dual roles. a professional body expertise of the members, late, there arose a strong common need to fight a cause, for protection of their rights and to protest against measures inimical to their interests. The union was an amalgam of the ten Laos Union of Teaches (LUT) and the Association of Headmasters of Ijebu Schools (AHIS), (NUT, 1999).
The NUT is essentially a teacher Trade Union organisation which is also a professional body. The profession o teaching binds all its practitioners at primary, secondary an teacher training levels under a trade banner. Like some other people of identical professional expertise belong to the same association, such as the Nurses in the Nurses Association the doctors in the Medial Association, the Engineers in the Engineers Association to mention but a few, so also do teaches rightly belong to the Union of teachers. On the other hand, the NUT, like other bodies of tradesmen that are trade unions looks after the welfare and services condition of its members.
As said earlier, the NUT was formed mainly as a way of coming together of teaches to be able to assert their status and rights of place in the society and also to be able to ensure hat their opinion as respected in professional circle and to ensure equity in their salary and remuneration. Therefore, every primary and post-primary school teachers in Nigeria should not require the force of law (as the case was in 1978 Trade Union Decree) to compare him/er to safeguard and guarantee his conditions of service an career prospect, but an obligation freely and voluntarily rendered.
Most importantly, the NUT has educational welfarism of the entire nation as their watchword. This great union was build on the solid rock of education. This was why the founder Rev. Ransom Kuti in his 15th Annual Conference (1946) said that that “the NUT as the name implies caters for educational interests and welfare in Nigeria and not for any other sectional or tribal group, according to him, the NUT does and will always continue to work with that in view. It treats all Nigerians as Nigerians (NUT 1999). At this point, it will be worthwhile to know the meaning of education.
Well, different people defined education in different was; to start with , Plato the great scholar defined education as the training which is given by suitable habits to the instinct of virtue in children, when pleasures and pains are rightly implanted in non-rational souls. According to him, education is that particular training in respect of pleasure and pain, which leads one to love and hate what one ought to love and hate respectively (Omebe and Mgboro 2001).
Agwu, S.N, Rowy A.O. and Akuma N. (2002), were of the opinion that any nation that seeks relevance in the global economy cannot afford to neglect education. So, also the Federal Republic of Nigeria, FRN (1981) noted that education has been adopted as an instrument in Nigeria.
Considering he inevitably of education (which invariably serves as the background or the platform on which and for which NUT was built), in our resent world, one will not hesitate to believe that NUT has a lot to offer.
In fact, Wackson (2000) recognised education as a vital element in the overall strategy for sustainable development to ensure a better life for all. Furthermore, Akuma (2004) concurred to this when he affirmed that “the best way for a country to be numbered among the progressives or be the envy of other countries is to sacrificially invest in her educational industry and ensure that equal educational opportunity is provided for all”. Therefore, the importance of education to national, state and individual life building cannot be overstressed.
The NUT being the largest body of organised professional teachers in Nigeria has the responsibility to champion the cause of the teaching profession, in Nigeria and make experiences guided and professionally oriented contributions to the development of educational industry in Nigeria and the overall development o our society (NUT, 1999).
Due to the level of education of NUT members, they live and teach in all areas of Nigeria – be it urban, rural; riverine, or any other type of environment. The NUT is in little corner of the country contributing her own quota, to the developmental effort and growth of Nigeria, though this may not seem too obvious anywhere.
However, according to the NUT study circle material (1999), the following are the supposed function of NUT in the NATIONAL development. The NUT in pursuance of its professional and trade union objectives, should undertake various activities in the individual states of Nigeria (including Ebonyi State) which ultimately contributes to the human resources development of the entire nation, among these activities are:
1. Servicing Government Educational Bodies:
The NUT as part of its duty to the orientation is supposed to make its contribution towards policy formulation and execution of educational programme through direct interaction with government or servicing in various set up by the government which affords her the opportunity of participating in taking discussion concerning education.
2. Economic Services;
The NUT should encourage and run co-operative services on which should have a solitary effect on the economic welfare of her members and vicariously of the particular state involved and the nation in general.
3. Leadership Education:
Though this is confined in NUT leadership, it is expected that the NUT should from time to time organise a new orientation an leadership forum to transform the participants into the union leaders, leader of schools, cooperatives as well as community endeavours, this will boost educational awareness of the interior village dwellers.
4. Trade Union Education;
NUT should educate and inculcate into her members to employ dialogue and scientific methods to resolve industrial disputes. This is because a nation torn in turmoil cannot make progress. Industrial disputes improperly handle dwindles productivity and causes social psychological disturbances therefore, education is scientific trade union of NUT as an organisation can help to avert what cold otherwise have been devastating industrial upheavals.
5. In-service Education for members;
The NUT should be holding different runs of professional and in-service programmes aimed at up-grading teaches skills to meet innovations in content an structure of education to facilitate understanding of membership, attitude to government policies in education to facilitate understanding and effective execution.
As a matter of fact, the NUT has make fruitful efforts which are all geared towards the development of education in Ebonyi state particularly and the whole nation generally. Such efforts can be listed below (NUT 1999).
a. The NUT has insisted in the democratisation of education and accessibility of education to all. This is aimed at eradicating illiteracy and all attendant social evils for the betterment of the state.
b. Teachers’ efforts in the commonly mobilisation for self-development outcome, a direct assistance to government’s call for communal self-help project in the state.
c. Utilisation of parents/ teachers association and school committee, guidance and counselling services e.t.c to raise consciousness and orientation of public, parents, school committee and students on the value of education and the correct attitude to same.
d. Teachers in this sate have always come en-mass to perform some civic activities or duties like registration of voters, census workers, public enlightenment campaigns, supervision of elections e.t.c. all th ese go a long way to secure rest of mind for the government and invariably create an avenue for the thriving of education in the state particularly and in the country generally.
e. Collaboration with other educational subjects Association lie Science Teaches Association of Nigeria (STAN) to give the support for continuation of their struggle for excellence in their fields (NUT 1999).
Roles Of NUT In Educational Development Of Ebonyi State
