Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has advocated a review of the cultural and religious burial process among the people in the state to curb the spread of Ebola Virus Disease.
The Governor said this at a health workshop on the prevention of Ebola Virus Disease, organized by the State Wing of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT.
Amosun who was represented by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, maintained that the measure was necessary to reduce the risk of spreading Ebola Virus Disease through infected corpses.
The governor said “all these will make it less risky for people to contact the virus as long as we maintain basic rules of hygiene and review our cultural and religious beliefs on how we bury the dead as the risk of contracting the disease through infected corpses is higher”.
The Governor who noted that the government had trained health workers and other stakeholders said sixty patrol vehicles had also been provided to enhance monitoring and check EVD from spreading through the border areas.
In a remark, the State Chairman of NUT, Comrade Dare Ilekoya said the health workshop was to commemorate this year’s World Teachers’ Day and promote healthy living among members.
Ilekoya appealed to the government to introduce measures that would enable primary school teachers with University Degrees to rise to grade level seventeen and ensure prompt release of deductions from members’ salaries.
Ilekoya said “Undue delay in the release of Cooperative, Bank loans and union dues deductions to teachers and teachers union is not encouraging.
“It is disheartening to note that even up till now, August deductions have not been released to commercial banks, cooperative societies and unions as expected” Ilekoya added.
Meanwhile, the Chairman has tasked the state government on the training and retraining of teachers.
He said there there was the need for teachers from time to time be exposed to training, re-training and in-service programmes of short and long durations.
Though the teachers used the occasion to organise health talk on protective and preventive measures against Ebola Virus Disease, Ilekoya said the time has come for the government to appraise the role of teachers and accord them the recognition they deserve.
He said, “On the part of government, the Teachers’ Day provides an opportunity to appraise, review and re-assess its educational policies and programmes with a view to ensuring that educational needs of teachers and the entire citizens are met.
“We also demand the full implementation of 27.5 per cent Teachers Perculiar Allowance to teachers of both primary and secondary schools as the governor has promised full implementation this month, October.”
Ilekoya also appealed to Governor Ibikunle Amosun to look into the case of university degree holders who were teaching in primary and had been stagnated on Grade Level 14 for more than eight years.
He noted that these same set of teachers in other states like Kwara, Osun, Anambra, Enugu, Oyo among others could now rise to Grade Level 17 just like their counterparts in secondary schools.
He added,”While we appreciate the governor for his magnanimity in the appointment of teachers as principals/headmasters general. The union wishes to recall that about four of them retired from service and have not been replaced and we learnt some names have been shortlisted for their replacement. We appeal to the governor to expedite action on this matter.”
Credit:Vanguard
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