In an act to foster development in the educational sector, the Nigerian Union of Teachers, has urged government for an amendment of the 1999 Constitution for basic education to be a core responsibility of the state government instead of local government.

Comrade Audu Amba, the National President of the union, revealed this at the ongoing First Quadrennial delegates’ conference of NUT’s Federal Wing in Abuja.

The NUT boss said, the first nine year of basic education should be made a core responsibility of the state governments.

Audu said, while the union was not against local government autonomy, the funding of primary education should not be the responsibility of the tier of government.

“It is only when the funding of basic education is made a core constitutional responsibility of state governments that the toxic phenomenon of non-payment of salaries of primary school teachers will be a thing of the past across the states of the federation,’’ he said.

The funding of primary education by local governments had been affecting learning and teaching at the foundational level of education, Audu stated.