November 18, (THEWILL) – The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has directed its members in Kaduna state to boycott the competency test being organised by the state government.
The union gave the directive at the end of its congress held at the Teachers House, Kabala Constantine, Kaduna on Wednesday.
The directive follows plans by the Kaduna state government to conduct competency tests for public primary school teachers in December.
According to the teachers, the motive behind the test is to downsize the workforce the same way it did three years ago.
The Kaduna state government had in January 2018 sacked 21,780 primary school teachers who failed a competency test conducted in 2017.
Speaking during the congress, which was attended by some national officers, the state chairman, Comrade Ibrahim Dalhatu, said the meeting was to brief teachers on steps taken so far by the NUT leadership.
He said: “The national leadership has set up a five-man committee to advice accordingly and after the submission of their report, we all agreed that our teachers will not write any competency test because the Kaduna state government has no legal ground to conduct such assessment as it is only the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) that has the legal backing to conduct such exercise.
“What informed the meeting is that the governor wants to conduct another competency test for our primary school teachers. The national head office has constituted a five-man committee to speak with the people. We have written to them to confirm whether the information we saw on social media is true or not but we did not get any response from them, only for them to send us the timetable scheduled for the exams.”
The NUT national president, Comrade Nasir Idris, said the move is another deliberate attempt to intimidate teachers in the state. Therefore, the union will not be so foolish to submit herself to fall victim again.
Comrade Idris, who was represented by the deputy national vice president, Comrade Nwankwo Kelvin, further explained that it is absurd for the Kaduna state government to announce a competency test for teachers it claimed three years ago were competent; a crime not only against humanity but also against God.
“SUPEB does not have the legality to conduct competency test for Teachers. We won’t be so foolish to submit ourselves to fall victim again. Once beaten Once shy. We won’t be so foolish to submit ourselves to fall victim again.
“Is it only teachers that are working in Kaduna State? What happened to other sectors. Why only teachers all the time?. This act of intimidation against teachers in Kaduna State is not only a crime against humanity but also against God,” he said.
Nwanchukwu further disclosed that the union is not afraid of exams because they are competent but only a competent organ is legally allowed to conduct such assessment.
He also assured teachers in Kaduna state that the national headquarters will not leave them to their fate.
“We are solidly behind you. No more repression, intimidation, victimization of teachers in Kaduna State,” he added.
Nwankwo insisted that the teachers’ competence have been proven by various accredited universities and colleges of education and were also tested before they were hired.
According to him, the NUT affirms and relies on the provisions of Section 1(d) Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) Act, CAP.T3 LFN 2004, which made provisions for the regulation and control of the teaching profession.
“As teachers who belong to a professional body, registered and licensed, we shall only subject ourselves to any professional recommendation issued by our Regulatory Council, but no other body.
“The NEC had unequivocally resolved that no teacher should be subjected to any form of competency test under any guise or colouration but advised that issues of quality education should be pursued vigorously by the state government and teachers at all levels and at all times”, he said.
Nwankwo advised state governments to embark on a mandatory continuous training programme in line with the practice in all professions.
He added that the teachers were available and willing to participate in refresher courses, workshops, seminars, or training to fill knowledge gaps in their various areas of specialisation.
“However, we are opposed to any political ploy aimed at easing teachers out of service, with the pretext that such teachers had failed examinations,” he said.
The Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board had in July announced plans to conduct a competency test for primary school teachers to ensure quality teaching.
Permanent Member, Human Resource Management, Kaduna SUBEB, Dr Christy Alademerin, had disclosed that the competency test is to ensure that the state has “the best of the best”.
“We are going to conduct the competency test to either weed out incompetent ones or whatever the outcome will look like, just to maintain the standards,” she said.
