Public secondary and primary school teachers in Kaduna state have commenced an indefinite strike action over job security and welfare issues.

The Nigerian Union of Teacher NUT in Kaduna state announced the commencement of the industrial action on Monday morning.

NUT Chairman, Zaria Local Government, Malam Yahaya Abbas said the strike was inevitable as the state government had ignored all efforts to meet the teachers ‘demands.

It was also learnt that one chief reason for the strike by the teachers, was the recent sacking of about 22, 000 teachers last year by Governor Nasir El Rufai over what the state governor termed ‘incompetence.’

According to Malam Yahaya Abbas, the disengagement of the teachers was carried out in total disregard to civil service rules and regulations.

“The sack was not done in accordance with civil service rules and majority of the teachers passed the so called examination with more than 60 per cent. “There is no justification for the governor to fix 75 per cent as pass mark, it has never been done anywhere in the world. “Even in Oxford, Cambridge or Harvard universities, if you get 70 marks, you are an `A’ grade student,” he said.

Part of the union’s demand is that the state government stop the compulsory retirement of secondary school teachers; pay the 2015 leave transport grant of 3,338 primary school teachers, and that of all public school teachers for 2016 and 2017.

 Other demands include the payment of salary arrears of more than 15,000 primary school teachers from June 2015 to July 2016, and full payment of salaries of teachers omitted after screening and those being under paid.