The chairman of Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), Nasarawa State chapter, Comrade Gabriel Agbashi, has given reasons why the state chapter of the union did not join the three-day warning national strike embarked by the Nigeria Union of Teachers last week.

Speaking to Nigerian Newsday in his office in Lafia last week, Comrade Agbashi said the decision not to join the nationwide strike was informed by the need to support the final year students of secondary schools who are writing their National Examination Council (NECO) examinations.

Comrade Agbashi said the strike embarked upon by the NUT was ill-motivated, advising the teachers to always have the interest of their students at heart.

Comrade Agbashi called on teachers in other states to always embrace the spirit of dialogue, saying that resorting to strike action was not in the best interest of education in the country.

The ASUSS chairman appealed to the government to accord teachers’ priority, warning that “any country that toys with the welfare of its teachers will not make any meaningful progress”.

Meanwhile the Nigeria Union of Teacher (NUT), Nasarawa State chapter, last week joined its colleagues all over the nation in a 3-day warning strike.

The strike, which paralyzed academic activities in public primary and secondary schools was called by the national body of the union.

Speaking to Nigerian Newsday, state chairman of NUT, Comrade Maku Assoloko, said that the Nasarawa State chapter of the union joined the strike because “the issues at stake affects all of us”.

Nigerian Newsday visited some selected schools across the three senatorial districts of the state and found that academic activities were stalled.

A cross section of parents who spoke to Nigerian Newsday expressed the fear that if quick measures were not taken to address the situation, serious damage would be done to the education sector in the nation.

They appealed to both the government and NUT to resolve their differences amicably.