Lockdown Hunger: Oyo private school teachers cry out

Members of the Private School Teachers Association in Oyo State have cried out to the State Government to extend to them special paliatives packages to help them deal with lack of food resulting from schools closure.

Top officers of the body, Messrs Julius Toye Bamidele (President), James Adebobola Ademola (Ibadan zonal director), and Rotimi Olawale (Oyo State Public Relations Officer) recently said, Monday it had been difficult for members to cater to the needs of their families since schools were ordered closed to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus.

The President of the Association, Mr Bamidele, speaking on behalf of the association, said,
“Since March 27, 2020 that the order was given that all sectors, including schools, should stay at home because of COVID-19, we have been having issues on how to feed our families.

“There’re cases whereby both husband and wife are teachers in private schools; this has been a big problem. There’s no way we can get salary from school owners because parents are not paying since their children are not in school, and we have no other source of income. Even many of private school (s) operate with the ‘no- work- no -pay’ principle.

“We want to appeal for help from the public, government, corporate bodies and individuals to give us palliatives for us to be able to live with our families, because we don’t know when this will pass over us.

“We have been told that government may consider reopening schools on July 15, 2020 but who knows if it’s going to be longer than that. It means we are going to spend two more months without any other source of income.”

Asked if some of them had been engaged in the much-touted online lessons during the lockdown, and if it had been of any help,  said only two or three teachers are engaged at a time (in schools that are doing it), and those are given only a token for their efforts.

“Some schools are doing it, but only one teacher or two are engaged. The highest is three or four (teachers); and those ones are given peanuts just for them to anchor the online school; whereas, other teachers are not getting anything.

“We are soliciting help from the public for all of us in Oyo State,” he pleaded.