By Usman Shuaibu
The National Public Relations officer of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Dr. Ahmed Bazza Lawan, has called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency to implement CONTISS 15 for lower cadre in the colleges of education across the country.
His words: “The issue of CONTISS 15 we called it migration of lower cadre. In the agreement signed by the government there is what we called CONTISS 15, before as our people reached the peak they stopped at CONTISS 14 and for you to reach your peak, it means you are level 17, but CONTISS 14 is not up to 17.
So, we put forward an argument to the government and the government graciously accepted and that CONTISS 15 was created. But what happened was that the senior cadre were migrated while the lower cadre was left behind since 2010, and since then we have been struggling to see that the government implements it. What is sad about it, is that our sister tertiary institutions like polytechnics the government had implemented theirs”.
He further said: “CONTISS 15 was signed and approved by the immediate past government of president Goodluck Jonathan that lower cadre should be incorporated and their arrears paid. So, we are calling on the Federal Government to do something about CONTISS 15.”
Lawan, who made the call while speaking with peoples Daily in his office in Zuba, expressing with dismay the manner at which the Teacher Education was neglected by the government of the day.
He urged the government to put in place necessary teaching and learning facilities at the colleges of education in Nigeria in the interest of the students, noting that Teacher Education can not be toyed with.
On the Need Assessment, he explained that COEASU engaged the government in 2014 in the provision of basic infrastructural facilities in the colleges of education but up till now no Boko was released.
While commenting on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the National Public Relations Officer said IPPIS is a system where the government wants to payroll every worker from the centre, asking the government to adjust the civil service platform to accommodate tertiary institutions in terms of their retirement age, sabbatical leave and contract staff among others.
He said the leadership of the union was ready to support any policy of the government to check leakages.
Lawan, who is an academic staff of the FCT College of Education Zuba, however, commended the government for the step being taken to approve the shortfall as well the promotion arrears of 2012, thanking the government also for approving the personnel allocation.
