The Kaduna State branch of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) has called off the industrial action it embarked upon last week over the sack of over 21,000 primary school teachers in the state.

The NUT Chairman in the state, Audi Anna announced the decision to bring an end to the strike on Thursday after an emergency meeting of the State Wing Executive Council (SWEC) of the union.

The union said it was calling off the strike following the decision of Governor El-Rufai to give a second chance to the teachers who had failed a competency test.

“The State wing of the NUT, Kaduna State met today, 18th January 2018 to review the situation in the light of the pronouncement of the Kaduna State government which was broadcast on the State media outfit, the KSMC.

“The broadcast which is to the effect that the state government, after a meeting with the interim Chairman and Education Secretaries of the 23 local governments has decided to give the 21,780 teachers who did not pass the recent competency test another opportunity for consideration under the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Program of continuous recruitment that will give every willing teacher a chance to apply.

“The State Wing Executive Council, SWEC of NUT Kaduna commends the above decision of the governor and sees it as an opportunity to resolve the impasse between the teachers in Kaduna State and the state government, the end results of which will be an improvement in service delivery in our schools.

“In the light of the above, SWEC unanimously resolved to reciprocate the gesture of the Kaduna State Government by calling off, with immediate effect the indefinite strike action embarked upon by teachers in the public schools and secondary schools in Kaduna state,” Mr. Anna said in the statement.

The Union appreciated the unity of all her members in remaining resolute during the struggle and thanked the leadership of all labour movements in Nigeria as well as the general public who identified with them during the period.