600 teachers killed by Boko Haram, 19,000 displaced' - NUT

The National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, (NUT), Comrade Michael Olukoya, on Monday, October 5, said that the union has lost over 600 of its members to Boko Haram attacks, Daily Trust reports. Olukoya made the statement during the 2015 World Teachers' Day celebration in Ado Ekiti.

According to him, 308 teachers were killed in Borno, 75 in Adamawa, 18 in Yobe, 25 in Kaduna, 120 in Plateau, 63 in Kano and two in Gombe states.

The figure is in addition to the 19,000 teachers that had been displaced and are suffering great losses due to the activities of the of insurgents, he said.

While calling on the federal government to beef up security around public schools in the country in order to prevent further loss of lives, the NUT boss also urged the government to increase teachers retirement age to 65, to prevent premature retirement and retention of matured and experienced individuals in the system as a way of arresting the falling standard of education in Nigeria.