By Michael Nnebife
The Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, Anambra State Wing, has donated various novels numbering over 1,000, to Public-Public Primary and Secondary Schools in the state to support the Education policy initiative of Prof Chukwuma Soludo’s administration.
Speaking while presenting the novels to the state’s Post Primary School Services Commission, PPSSC, and the Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board, ASUBEB, the Anambra NUT Chairman, Comrade Chika Grace Chukwudozie, commended Governor Soludo for transforming the education landscape in the state by the employment of 8,115 teachers, free education from nursery to senior secondary school level, among others.
‘Mr Governor is doing wonderfully well; he has invested so much in public schools. We thought it wise to celebrate this day, 2025 World Book Day, with our students in about 330 and 227 Public-public Primary and Secondary Schools respectively, by giving them these novels in support to all our Governor has been doing in Public-public Schools.
‘He loves education and he is out to restore and promote the glory of the Public-public System of Education,’ Comrade Chukwudozie said, noting that the NUT advocated Public-public System of Education.
‘We’re starting this book donation with Public-public Schools due to the economic situation in the country. By next year, we’ll reach out to public Mission Schools and others,’ the NUT Chairman said.
She however, regretted that most students nowadays could not stay down to study their books, but devoted much of their time to phones.
‘We use this opportunity to remind them of the dire need to stay down and study their books,’ the Chairman said.
She appealed to public spirited individuals, all education stakeholders, and lovers of education to key in in promoting the World Book Day, expressing the belief that this would help students to understand the need to read books.
Contributing, the State Secretary of the Union, Comrade Nathaniel Metu, who described books as hidden treasures, said the NUT’s book gifts to Anambra Public-public Schools was part of the Union’s corporate social responsibility, which, he said, aimed at reminding others of the need to encourage the reading culture among students.
‘In line with the policy of our digital Governor, who has given education a priority attention, we’re doing this to tell people to conscientize our children about the need to read, for a reading nation is a leading nation,’ Comrade Metu said.
In their separate responses, the Anambra PPSSC Chairman, Prof Nkechi Ikediugwu, and her ASUBEB counterpart, Prof Nkiru Nwadinobi, lauded the Chukwudozie-led Anambra NUT for the donation which they described as marvelous and first of its kind in the annals of the Union.
Prof Ikediugwu and Prof Nwadinobi, who were represented on the occasion by the PPSSC Secretary, Lady Benedine Anagor, and Hon Uche Egbusi of ASUBEB, respectively, thanked the Union and pledged the readiness of the two education bodies to distribute the novels to the schools as soon as possible.
Symbolic presentation of copies of the novels to Ikediugwu and Nwadinobi, climaxed the event which took place at Anambra Teachers’ House, Awka, on 7th March, to mark the 2025 World Book Day in the state.
It will be recalled that each year, 23rd April, celebrations take place all over the world to recognize the scope of books. But due to the fact that by the 23rd of April this year, schools will be on holiday, Anambra State chose 7th March to celebrate the 2025 World Book Day.’
The State Deputy Chairman, Comrade Solomon Nwoye; the State Treasurer, Comrade Ndidi Nriagu; among other executive and staff members of the Union, were present during the epoch-making event.
