Rumpus in Edo over teachers verification exercise

The teachers were sacked after a competency test and verification exercise was conducted by the state’s Information Technology Communication (ICT).The report of the exercise found the affected teachers of committing offences ranging from age falsification, health challenges and non possession of primary school leaving certificate.The development, however, met with stiff resistance from the teachers, labour […]

The teachers were sacked after a competency test and verification exercise was conducted by the state’s Information Technology Communication (ICT).
The report of the exercise found the affected teachers of committing offences ranging from age falsification, health challenges and non possession of primary school leaving certificate.
The development, however, met with stiff resistance from the teachers, labour union and the main opposition political party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The PDP chairman in the state Dan Orbih accused governor Oshiomhole of high handedness, witch hunt and a ploy to reduce the state workforce.
He said if the competency test conducted revealed that the teachers were not competent or not well trained, it is the responsibility of the government to give them further training.
Agreeing with the PDP, the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, through its chairman, Comrade Emmanuel Ademokun, condemned the sack and issued a 21-day ultimatum to government to either recall the sacked teachers or face serious labour unrest in the state.
But governor Oshiommhole while defending government’s decision said: “We have not sacked any teacher rather, we have stopped the salaries of some teachers indicted by the verification exercise. We have not issued any sack or termination letters to any teacher following the exercise.”
He maintained that although government was disposed to training and re-training of teachers, but to design the appropriate retraining programme for them, you must assess their level of competency to know the kind of training they require, he said.
He added: “If every other person wants to joke with education, I will not joke with it. I owe the Edo people quality, basic education that is why we have abolished all charges in our primary and secondary schools.
 “Over the past five years, outside road and erosion control, the highest allocation has consistently gone to education, and over the years, in our recurrent expenditure at state and local levels, the highest allocation has gone to the education sector.”
Oshiomhole noted that the exercise is not to witch-hunt or downsize the workforce but to ensure that the huge investments made in the education sector is justified.
So far, a team of six Professors of Education led by Professor Dennis Agbonlahor has been inaugurated by the governor to conduct the Teachers’ Assessment in the state.
At the inauguration of the team, Oshiomhole said: “Primary education is the foundation for upward mobility in life and government had made huge investment by providing infrastructures, salaries as at when due, free but compulsory basic education.
“All that will amount to nothing if the human resource capital is not developed, hence the need to carry out this new assignment to differentiate the knowledgeable teachers from the quacks and we are going to take the necessary steps to enhance the good ones through training and retraining to reposition and sustain basic education in the state.”
The governor noted that government has held five meetings over the issue and postponed the proposed test twice, saying the test would be done in the next 14 days.
He said: “We cannot allow, even for a day, for bad teachers to poison the brain of our children. The purpose of the assessment is to separate the quacks from the genuine ones, then, we can embark on training and retraining. Those who can be retrained will be retrained and those who cannot be trained will be asked to quit the system.
 “The employer always defines how he wants to organise his work. If the employee does not handle the affairs the way the employer wants it, he does not need permission to do away with the services of the employee.”
In his acceptance speech, the Chairman and former Vice-Chancellor, Ambrose Alli University, Professor Dennis Agbonlahor, commended the state government’s investment in the educational sector, thanking the governor for the confidence reposed on them.
Aghbonlahor said: “In my twelve years as Vice-Chancellor, my heart bleeds when I see the number of children with poor foundation.”
He promised that members of the team will be objective and transparent in the discharge of their assignment.
Speaking earlier, the President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, represented by the Deputy National President, Comrade Olu Abiola, commended the governor for his achievements in the education sector in the state.
He, however, said the competency has a professional flaw and that teaching is a service and not a product industry and competency test to an average worker is sustainable at the level of appointment.
He said he would report back to the NUT President on the outcome of the meeting before the union takes its final decision on the matter.
The National President of Academic Staff Union of Secondary School, Comrade Charles Ifaluyi, commended the governor for the giant strides recorded in the education sector.
He said teachers are not afraid of the assessment test but believe that the methodology was flawed. He urged the governor to re-appraise the situation, saying teachers would prefer on-the-job assessment rather than a competency test.
While the controversy was raging, Oshiomhole organised a town hall meeting with stakeholders on the assessment programme, although teachers were absent at the  town hall meeting, most of the stakeholders who attended the meeting including parents and traditional rulers endorsed the assessment test.
The Onojie of Opoji, Ehidiamen I, said the government should not compromise in sanitising the education sector in the state.
He noted that education is the pivot of development in any society, encouraging the governor to flush out unqualified teachers from the system.