Maiduguri – The Borno Chapter of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has donated reading glasses to 140 teachers with eye problems after free medical treatment.
The state Chairman of NUT, Alhaji Bulama Abiso, disclosed this in Maiduguri on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said 14 out of the beneficiaries would undergo eye surgery, while others were given free eyeglasses.
Abiso said the free eye screening was conducted by a team of medical experts from Afro Eye Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).
He said patients with minor eye problems were treated at its medical centre, while those with surgical cases were referred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for operation.
Abiso said that the gesture was part of the union’s efforts to improve teacher’s welfare for effective service delivery.
The chairman said the gesture was necessary to uplift the health status of teachers who remained “the heart of foundation of educational process”.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
He disclosed that same gesture would be extended to other teachers across the 27 local government areas of the state.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
“Teachers’ welfare has remained the core priority of this union, that is why we are doing what we can to uplift their living standard.
“The union had procured about 187 plots of land which were distributed to our members through soft loans.
“We are equally working out modalities with the Federal Mortgage Bank to construct two blocks of about 300 houses to our teachers to address their accommodation problems.
“The houses would be given to them as revolving loans which are to be paid back in 25 years.
“More arrangements are being made so that even if our teachers resigned, they will still continue paying the loans to enable them own the houses at the end of the day,” he said.
Abiso, therefore, called on the 140 teachers to adhere strictly to the use of the eye glasses and drugs prescribed for them.
He equally called on the government, NGOs, wealthy individuals and other relevant stakeholders to assist needy people in the society. (NAN)