Workers in the employ of the Oyo State Government are currently on an indefinite strike. Seven labour leaders are in court answering charges bordering on destruction of government property, disruption of public programme and assault.
While the government insists that the law must take its course, labour leaders rely on the strength of workers to call the latter’s bluff. The world watches with interest how both parties find a common ground to work together again to overcome the controversies attending the newly introduced partnership on school management. BISI OLADELE reviews the hullabaloo greeting the government initiative and the efforts to bring it to an end soon.
The last two weeks have been a special moment in Oyo State with labour leaders arraigned and detained for allegedly disrupting a government meeting with stakeholders as well as destroying government property.
In a quick reaction, the aggrieved labour leaders called out workers in the state employ to an indefinite strike with allegation of inciting secondary school pupils against the government resulting in pupils taking to the streets to protest alleged plan to ‘sell’ public schools.
The chaotic situation was born by the decision of the state government to partner with some stakeholders on the management of some public schools as a way of improving quality of teaching and learning in the public school system.
The state government had on May 31 published an advertisement inviting interested stakeholders to apply for partnership in managing some schools. The advertisement also invited all interested stakeholders to a meeting slated for June 1.
But operating on the belief that the initiative was aimed at selling off public schools, labour leaders went to the venue and protested against the idea, positing that government was out to sell out the schools under the guise of the planned Public Private Partnership (PPP). They led a protest to the stakeholders’ meeting being held the following day, with the implication that the meeting ended in a fiasco.
Government had to reschedule the meeting to the following week while law enforcement agents arrested seven of the labour leaders including the Oyo State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Waheed Olojede.
They were arraigned the following day and granted bail the same day. But the bail conditions could not be fully met until Monday. They spent the weekend in detention at Agodi Prison, Ibadan.
While in detention, their colleagues served a seven-day ultimatum on the government to clear salary arrears and drop the charges against their leaders or face an indefinite strike.
After their leaders regained freedom n Monday, labour ordered workers to commence indefinite strike on Tuesday.
Since then, workers have stayed away from their places of assignment while government closed down public schools indefinitely to prevent a total breakdown of law and order.
But the stakeholders meeting was held on Wednesday with labour and teachers shunning the talk shop which held under tight security.
At the meeting, however, Governor Abiola Ajimobi appealed to stakeholders for the embarrassment of the previous week while acknowledging that the government might have made some mistakes in its approach to the initiative.
Since then, there has been a stalemate. Government stuck to the project and continues to engage interested corporate organizations, individuals and communities It insisted that it would not interfere in the affairs of the court but indicated willingness to move forward. Labour has also rolled out the conditions government must meet before participating in any dialogue or ending the strike.
The NLC insisted that the government must drop the charges against its leaders, clear all salary arrears and abandon or review the school management initiative.
The situation will compound the poor financial condition of the government and also put ordinary workers in a more severe financial straits as they have only been paid till December, last year.
While insisting that some people are deliberately misleading the public on the idea, the Special Adviser to Governor Ajimobi on Communication and Strategy, Mr Yomi Layinka, explained that the initiative was still at the preparatory stage, not yet a government policy.
Layinka emphasized that the idea was not about returning schools to missionaries or sell to anyone but to partner with willing communities, corporate bodies and others that can raise the quality of learning.
His words: “This initiative is not about returning schools to anybody. The government is simply inviting all interested stakeholders (not necessarily former owners, missionaries and communities) to partner with it in the sustainable management of public secondary schools.
“We are NOT ceding, selling or privatizing public schools. The government’s intention is to partner with interested stakeholders who wish to support the government in the management of these schools. They may be alumni associations, communities, or philanthropists.
“Presumably less than 10 per cent of the 631 public secondary schools in Oyo State are likely to be involved in this partnership.”
Layinka added that the initiative would not take education out of the reach of the poor because “government will moderate fees in the affected schools to ensure affordability, apart from the availability of alternatives within the same environment, whose facilities will also undergo facility upgrade.”
He added: ” The beauty of the proposed partnership is that students in the schools likely to be affected is that current students from JSS II to SSS III will continue to enjoy free education and not pay school fees until they graduate.”
In the fate of those schools not captured in the project, Layinka explained: “All public schools in Oyo State are currently undergoing assessment and improvements, not only in the areas of infrastructure but even in terms of curricular development.
“The recently introduced N1,000 education levy in public schools is meant for this purpose in addition to other investments intended for their upgrade and development.”
The government spokesman added that the planned programme is open to all senatorial districts of the state, without restriction to any particular areas.
Layinka further explained that the idea had been undertaken in Lagos, Ogun, and many eastern states. “They have successfully run various partnership models that ensure the engagement/support of the private sector working alongside their respective ministries of education.”
He added: “The main reason is to allow for the participation of interested stakeholders in the management of our secondary schools for the greater good of our students, their parents/ guardians as well as our education management system.”
Speaking about fears of possible religious conflicts, he said: “There shouldn’t be any fears. The government intends to ensure freedom of religious preferences through its regulatory mechanisms and shall stoutly resist any form of religious imposition or intolerance. Our religious diversity will be maintained.”
Also explaining how staff will not be negatively affected by the initiative, Layinka emphasized: “Fist of all, all teachers are at liberty to choose between staying with their present employer (government) and whoever becomes the partnering entity. In either case, such employee/employer issues can easily be sorted out on terms and conditions that are mutually agreeable to both parties. Suffice to say that government will not leave any teacher at the mercy of any of its partners since government will always remain an active regulator of the relationships and standards of engagement.”
However, labour leaders are not yet showing signs they want to back down on their demands even as Ajimobi insisted that they must apologize for allegedly disrupting the stakeholders’ meeting. The government also condemned the strike, saying it did not follow laid down guidelines.
In the coming days, the public is expecting some surprises from, particularly the government, with many also looking in the way of elders across the state to intervene ending the logjam.
Yet, whatever move made to bring a truce is most unlikely to prevent the initiative from transforming to a government policy.
