The face-off between the Edo State government and the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) is far from being over. Though the ‘competency test’ the government is insisting teachers must write was unanimously endorsed by stakeholders at a Town hall meeting in Benin, the state capital, last week, the NUT, which shunned the meeting, says it is awaiting instructions from its national body. OSAGIE OTABOR writes from Benin
•Edo, teachers bicker over assessment
Barring any unforeseen hitch, teachers in Edo State public schools will soon write an assessment test to certify them fit for their job. The test, scheduled to hold within 14 with effect from Wednesday last week , is to be conducted by a team of six professors of Education headed by Dennis Agbonlahor.
Others are: Ikponmwonsa Owie, Noah Musa, Augustine Osunde, Omobude Idiado and Mrs. A. O. Imogie.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole plans to turn his searchlight on private schools once he is done with public schools. The aim, he says, is to ensure that teachers who may be axed for incompetence, do not find their way into private schools.
After a special congress on Monday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) shelved its planned strike in solidarity with the teachers. The union said it was waiting for further instructions from the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), which claimed to be waiting for further directives from its national body. NLC Chairman Comrade Emmanuel Ademokun said the NUT directive would determine the union’s action.
Two weeks ago, the organised labour unions threatened to go on strike from this month if the withheld salaries of the 920 teachers in the state were not paid. The unions also warned the government against conducting the proposed competency test.
Last December, the government withheld the teachers’ salaries after a verification. Some teachers were accused of falsifying their ages, others were found wanting in other areas. Some of the teachers were found to have completed their primary school education before they were born, while others completed at the age of three.
A teacher caused a scene when she could not read when the governor asked her to do so.
The NUT waded into the issue but the government’s condition for reconsidering the teachers was for them to take the competency test. Afraid that the test might lead to the axing of those who do not do well, the teachers refused.
However, the government went ahead to fix a date for the test. Initially, it was scheduled for January 11, but was put it on hold when the NUT directed its members to shun the exercise. Last month, civil society organisations led by the Executive Director, African Network for Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Revd David Ugolor, met with Oshiomhole who explained why he insisted on the test.
The groups promised to set up an independent contact group to reach out to the NUT with a view to resolving contentious issues between the warring parties.
Two weeks later, the civil society organisations submitted a one-point recommendation to the government, urging it to meet with the teachers and other stakeholders to discuss the matter amicably.
Oshiomhole agreed to meet with the teachers on Wednesday last week and informed the groups that a town hall meeting on the test would hold a day before the scheduled meeting with the teachers.
However, the NUT and organised labour stayed away from the meeting, which had in attendance traditional rulers, political leaders, market women, students, drivers, retirees, intellectuals and the unemployed.
Chairman of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organisations, Mr Jude Obasanmi, who was among those that interfaced between the NUT and government, said the town hall meeting was in sharp contrast to their recommendation that a team of technocrats be assembled to brainstorm on the issue.
Obasanmi said: “The session should be between the NUT leadership and the state government so that all issues can be sorted. What they (government) is doing today is different from what we discussed. The NUT is complaining that they have not been able to have an audience with the state government. The meeting with NUT should have come up first before calling for a town hall meeting. This forum cannot discuss education. When we met with them (NUT), they said taking decision is out of their control. They have to wait for their national body. The national body may have advised them to stay away. But, for me, it would have been an avenue for the NUT to present its case. We came to observe. They mentioned that government has not been sincere in its engagement with them in a manner they would feel.”
At the meeting, the Edo teachers were rated below average by most speakers, who unanimously gave governor the green light to conduct the test, and to fire any teacher who failed to do the test.
Onojie of Opoji, The Ehidiamen 1, warned the government not to compromise in sanitising the education sector. He urged Oshiomhole to “flush out unqualified teachers from the system in the interest of the pupils. True union leaders would not support unqualified teachers.”
The traditional ruler of Igueben, Ehizogie Eluojierior I, praised the government for initiating the competency test to assess teachers in the state. “I do not see why a teacher should be afraid to face a simple assessment. Those who are not qualified to teach our children should be thrown out of the system. I think you are doing the right thing and, therefore, need our support”.
The Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, also supported the conduct of the test.
“We fully endorse all you are doing in regard to the competency test,” he said.
“What the governor has been saying is in the interest of the people. He has the right to protect the interest of Edo people. So far, you have not done anything wrong in this enterprise.
“After the incident of the lady who couldn’t read her own affidavit, has the NUT done an in-house cleaning to weed out incompetent teachers from its midst?
“Teachers are not the only people who voted for Adams Oshiomhole. We, the parents of the students they teach, also did; and the future of our children is of great concern to us. The governor has the right to protect our interest.
“The governor has done nothing wrong, so far. He has engaged the NUT, civil societies and now this town hall meeting. The teachers should not abuse their right to strike and demonstrate. They are not the only stakeholders in the education sector. We are also stakeholders. The child who is playing outside should know he is not the owner of the field. Teachers are not the owners of the state,” he said.
The Isekhure of Benin Kingdom, Chief Nosakhare Isekhure, said the competency test became inevitable because of the rot in the school system. However, he suggested the formation of a local supporting committee that would monitor the activities of the schools and report to the ministry.
The spokesperson of the market women, Mrs Blakie Omoregie, said: “Teachers who teach our children put them to test and examinations at the end of the term to determine those that can be promoted.”
She said the police also conduct tests before promotion, wondering why the teachers are refusing to do the needful.
“They (teachers) go to different markets when they are supposed to be in the classroom. Some of them even use certificates that are not theirs. If they are not ready to do the test, they should be ready to quit the system.”
Oshiomhole reiterated that the exercise was not to save cost or downsize but to replace what is bad with what is good.
He said: “It is bad enough to have millions of young people who are unemployed, but it is worse when you have millions of people who are unemployable. I have tried to engage the NUT. The teachers agreed we should organise a competency test. Their only reservation was that the test should not be covered by the media. I agreed. But the NUT advised their members not to attend. The NUT leadership went there to mislead their members. We had a third meeting, they said they needed more time to share some bits of information with us. They then raised the issue that it was an exercise to witch-hunt teachers.
“Why should I seek power if I do not have the liver, the courage to make decisions that I am convinced about. I don’t want to pass this burden to my successors. If I didn’t have good primary education, I would not have become the president of NLC. I promised to step on toes or perhaps chop off some other toes if we are to secure our future. I was voted to provide a credible leadership that will secure the future of this state. A politician thinks of the next election, a statesman thinks of the next generation.
“When we are through with public schools, we will focus on private schools. I want to be certain we are not asking private school owners to do what we were not able to do in public schools. In the course of my going round, I saw private school teachers earning less than N18,000.”
“How can we accept we have overage teachers and people who were not trained as teachers in our employment; yet we have young people who are unemployed but very qualified to teach?”
