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Tag: teachers

  • ‘Osun not owing teachers 28 months arrears’

    ‘Osun not owing teachers 28 months arrears’

    The Statistician-General, State of Osun, Professor Wasiu Gbolagade has debunked media reports making the rounds that the state is owing teachers 28 months salary arrears.

    Prof. Gbolagade in a media release observed that the claim that the state was owing her teachers 28 months half salaries was inaccurate and totally at variance with the situation of things in the state.

    According to him, the bulk of the teachers in the state falls within a salary category that get their full monthly salary and allowances. ‘’the accurate data in the State Bureau of Statistics shows that the Government of State of Osun is not owing salaries of any worker or teachers in the grade level 1 to 7 which falls into 40% of the total population of teachers in the State.’’

    He stated further that only ten percent of teachers in the state falls under the salary modulation system whereby they are paid 75 percent of their monthly emoluments. ‘’workers and teachers on level 8-10 which falls into 10% of the total population of teachers collects 75% of their salaries every month which means government is owning them 25% of their salaries. The categories that falls into level 12-17 are the ones getting half of their emoluments.’’ he noted.

    Professor Gbolagade noted that to demonstrate its commitment to the welfare of workers in the state, the Aregbesola administration, in spite of paucity of funds, paid workers across all grade levels full salary in the month of December 2017.

  • Foundation trains 200 teachers

    The Bunmi Adedayo Foundation (BAF), established to honour the legacy of the late Bunmi Adedayo, the only son of owners of Tastee Fried Chicken (TFC), will hold its second Continuous Professional Development training programme for 2018 on February 22.

    The first workshop for the year for 200 select teachers from 18 public primary schools in Lagos State held January 4.

    The training which would last the whole year would be interspersed with monitoring visits by assessors to the schools of participants.

    A statement on the foundation’s website noted that there would be six trainings between January and November this year.

    Speaking at the first training, Mr Babatunde Akinleye, Chairman, Board of Directors of BAF, underscored the need to reform and retrain in-service teachers for better education service delivery.

    He said the foundation was committed to reducing the percentage of quality and qualified primary school teachers in Nigeria, which the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) reported is between 30 and 40 per cent.

    Also speaking, the Chairman of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB), Dr Ganiyu Sopeyin, praised BAF for its continuous investment in education in the state since it was founded in 2016.

    Sopeyin further urged the beneficiaries to seize the opportunity to improve their professionalism.

    Dr Dolapo Ogunbawo, Training Consultant to the Foundation, described teachers as the gateway to the future of the nation. She underscored the importance of qualified manpower in the education sector and the need for teachers to recognise of their role in moulding lives.

    During the workshop, participants were divided into four groups to allow for deeper discussions.

  • Training a must for teachers, says VC

    Vice Chancellor, Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, Prof. Ayandiji Aina, has identified capacity building as the only means of enhancing teachers’ performance.

    Aina, therefore, called on the government and stakeholders to make training a regular exercise for teachers.

    Aina spoke at the 11th matriculation at its Imota campus, where he argued that producing outstanding students was achievable by quality teachers and good pedagogy.

    The new students were drawn from colleges of Environmental Sciences and Management; Pure and Applied Sciences; Arts, Social and Management Sciences; as well as School of Postgraduate Studies.

    Aina warned them not to identify with bad associations, but take advantage of the university’s facilities to excel academically.

    Aina appealed to the government to allow private universities benefit from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) so they could improve their research.

    He lamented that poor economy had increased the cost of running private universities, making it difficult for their proprietors to pay salaries.

    “People saying we are always charging much and therefore do not deserve grants are being unfair to us. I advise them to do the maths and realise that what we are charging is not even enough to run the school.

    “Donations from private individuals and organisations are what have been helping us. I spend N300million as overhead expenses monthly; where is the money coming from? Check out our population and ask yourself questions,” he said.

    The guest speaker, Pastor Johnson Kalejaiye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, urged the students to be diligent, noting that a hard working student can outshine an intellectually endowed one if the latter is lazy.

     

  • ‘80 per cent of teachers in Nasarawa unqualified’

    ‘80 per cent of teachers in Nasarawa unqualified’

    Eighty per cent of teachers in Nasarawa State are not qualified and would fail an aptitude test if it was administered on them, Governor Tanko Al-Makura said in Akwanga on Monday.

    In a speech at the opening ceremony of a conference to review the minimum standards of the National Certificate of Education (NCE), Al-makura said government embarked on some research which revealed that most primary and secondary school teachers have no business in the classrooms.

    Al-Makura, who was represented by Commissioner for Education Aliyu Tijjani Ahmed, however allayed teachers’ fears of an appraisal test.

    “We are not planning a test for the teachers; we only intend to train and retrain them so as to build their capacities for better service delivery,” he said.

    He appealed to the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and other stakeholders to step-up supervision in order to save the sector from total collapse.

    The governor advised the reviewers to pay special attention to technical education and entrepreneurship to make NCE graduates more attractive to employers of labour.

    In his speech Executive Secretary of NCCE, Prof. Bappah Aliyu, said the conference would review the current curriculum and inject new ideas so as to boost the quality of the graduates.

    He said that such review was last carried out in 2012, and urged stakeholders to offer suggestions that would shore up the quality of colleges of education to enable them produce qualified teachers.

    Earlier, Mrs. Rebecca Umaru, Provost, College of Education, Akwanga, thanked the NCCE for selecting the institution to host the conference.

    She expressed optimism that the outcome of the conference would keep lecturers and the management of the respective colleges on their toes in the efforts to produce teachers that would be assets to the society.

  • Suspected herdsmen attack female teachers in Ogun

    Herdsmen who turned robbers have  attacked and injured two female primary school teachers at the serene Onigbedu community in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State.

    The teachers were  going to their school located  on Thursday at Atola village in the same Local Government on commercial motorcycle when two herdsmen bearing sticks accosted them, and with

    It was learnt that when the robber – herdsmen stopped the the commercial motorcyclist, his female passengers fell off his motorcycle during a struggle, he  escaped, leaving the female teachers at the mercy of the attackers.

    According to a source close to the victims, when they could not provide money to the assailants, the herdsmen turned robbers began to beat them with sticks until they bled from all over their body.

    The teachers were first given medical attention at Onigbedu health centre, and later transfered to the state General Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta.

    “They said those who attacked them with sticks were herdsmen  but they were robbers.

    “When they accosted them, they were saying ‘bring money, bring money,’ and the teachers said they said they had no money on them. And it was this that infuriated them and hit them with the sticks on their heads,” a source said.

    Confirming the incident, the state Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Mr. Titi Adebanjo said: “Yes, it is true that robbers attacked two teachers on Thursday while on their way to the school in Atola village in Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state.

    ” They are currently at the state General Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta, where they are receiving treatment. They are responding to treatment.”

    Also, the  Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun, Abimbola Oyeyemi,  confirmed the incident, said two were arrested but later set free upon discovery that the supposedly suspects were known faces among the residents of the area.

    “It is true that herdsmen attacked two teachers with sticks. Investigations had commenced into the matter.

    “Some herdsmen were arrested but we later discovered they were not the ones who attacked the teachers, because they reside and were known in that environment.

  • The service commission we want, by teachers

    The service commission we want, by teachers

    As Lagos State government contemplates to bring back the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), teachers say some things must be in place for the body to work, report OZIEGBE OKOEKI and KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.

    • Lawmakers hold public hearing on harmonised education bill

    The Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) is  returning to the public education system of Lagos State. It was scrapped during the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to give way for the creation of six education districts headed by Tutors-General/Permanent Secretaries (TG/PS).

    In its place, the Education Districts have handled postings, discipline, and administration of the public junior and senior secondary schools across the 20 local government areas (LGA) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) of the state.

    The introduction of the education districts then was welcomed by many, especially the teachers who had the opportunity to get to the peak of their careers as TG/PS. Then, the position was reserved for only principals who had risen to Level 17. Though the tradition was followed over the years, there were some modifications: officers of lower levels who were not straight from the classrooms were appointed TG/PS, a situation which saddened the teachers.

    The re-introduction of TESCOM is being welcomed by many, who hope it would end such practices and enhance the welfare and discipline of teachers.

    A bill to re-introduce the commission is  being debated by the Lagos State House of Assembly.  The lawmakers held a public hearing on the bill titled: “A Bill for a Law to Provide for the Establishment of the Lagos State Teaching Service Commission for the Control and Management of the Teaching Service Matters and for Connected Purposes” on Tuesday at the Lateef Jakande Auditorium of the assembly.

    The bill empowers the commission to exercise control over all the education districts. Section 10 spells out the functions of the commission to include: “maintenance of comprehensive and up-to-date personal records for the teaching service and ensure staff welfare and training; and supervise the six Education Districts’’ in the 20 LGs and 37 LCDAs, among others.

    Section 11 of the bill highlights the powers of the commission to include: “employ all categories of teaching and non-teaching staff for placement in all Education Districts, subject to the approval of the Governor.”

    Speaker of the House, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa said the bill was borne out of the need to further strengthen the state’s education sector.

    “This all-important bill tries to encapsulate all the things needed to make the transfer of knowledge in our schools seamless,” said Obasa, who was represented by his deputy, Hon Wasiu Eshinlokun Sanni.

    Majority Leader Sanai Agunbiade said the bill seeks to repeal the Lagos State Post-Primary Teaching Service Law Cap. L54, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.

    He added that it would properly validate the creation of the Education Districts and  provide for the establishment of the Lagos State Teaching Service Commission Board consisting of five full-time members who shall be appointed by the governor.

    He also said it would strengthen education institutions, take care of the welfare of teaching and non-teaching staff as well as protect them.

    “It is also to take care of teachers and ensure that only professionally qualified teachers will be teaching in Lagos State. This is noble and will prevent infiltration in the teaching profession,” he said.

    Many teachers are happy about TESCOM’s return. But they warn that it needs to be structured properly to serve its purpose.

    In an interview with The Nation, a retired principal and former executive of the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), who did not want to be named, said the practice of elevating directors in the ministry above those in schools dampened the morale of many teachers and discouraged hard work. With TESCOM, he said, sanity should be restored.

    “It will help end some negativity in the system. The initial practice of appointment of TG/PS was for serving principals. There was some level of fraternity between the TG/PS and the school principals when a serving principal became TG/PS. But the moment you promote someone who was never a principal, who was even Level 15/16 when Level 17 were there. With the introduction of TESCOM, it will bring some level of sanity, restore the confidence of these teachers.  TESCOM should be properly managed so that some juniors should not be elevated among seniors.When that happens, teachers become discouraged and wont want to work hard,” he said.

    One of the pioneer TG/PS, who was appointed a serving principal (names withheld), said TESCOM has a supervisory role. However, she called for its mandate, and those of other components that make up the educational administrative organ of government to be properly spelt out.

    “There is nothing wrong with having it around. It will only provide more supervision for the teaching service. But it has to be refined compared to the old one.  You know now we have the Ministry of Education, State Universal Basic Education Board, the Education districts all working together.  As the bill is being passed, everything should be spelt out as each has its duties that will move education forward,” she said.

    She added that the issue of bias against teachers in favour of administrators in the ministry in appointments at top level also needed to be addressed.

    “It is something we teachers were not happy about.  Most teachers start out on Level 7 as NCE teachers.  We’ve seen it all and gone through all the stages.  But you see some run to the ministry away from the classroom and claim to be more qualified. Honestly, it is not fair,” she said.

    A TG/PS, who also did not want to be named, said TESCOM would work well, if there is flexibility.

    “It is good to have TESCOM.  To be fair on the teachers, especially on their welfare and discipline, it iis needed.  It serves as an affiliate body to oversee the discipline of teachers.  As we are now, we are both the judge and the jury.  But we need an outside body that will see to such issues for fairness. But there should be flexibility so the districts can run well,” she said.

    At the public hearing, Mrs Oyefunke Adepoju , ANCOPSS Lagos First Vice President, called on the lawmakers to include representatives of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and ANCOPSS on the board.

    NUT Lagos State Chairman Mr. Segun Raheem called for an increase in the members of the board. He said the five-member board was too inadequate to cater for the large population of teachers in the state.

    Raheem cautioned against tendencies to make the TG/PS subservient to their counterparts in the commission and Ministry of Education.

     

  • Sacked Kaduna teachers reapply for work

    Sacked Kaduna teachers reapply for work

    Twelve thousand of the 21,780 sacked teachers in Kaduna State reapplied for teaching jobs, it was learnt yesterday.

    State Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC) will interview shortlisted candidates on Wednesday.

    Of the 43,000 who applied, 27,000 were shortlisted.

    Read Also: Teachers’ sack: Pro-govt protesters march through Kaduna

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who spoke through the Commissioner for Education Jaafaru Sani, said those who spent between five and nine years in service would get their gratuities, while those over 10 years are qualified for pension.

    Sani added that the government will provide improved welfare for its teachers to enable them compete with private schools.

    According to him, the government did not meet with labour before the union called off its two-week-old strike Thursday.

    His words: “SUBEB has completed marking the scripts of over 43,000 applicants for the teaching jobs; 27,000 applicants have been shortlisted and would be interviewed on Wednesday.

    “SUBEB is working hard to ensure that the first batch of teachers who meet the required competence, qualification and professional standard are deployment in February.”

  • Shortage of teachers looms in Delta public schools

    Shortage of teachers looms in Delta public schools

    No fewer than 152 secondary school teachers are set to retire from the Delta State Unified Teaching Service this month, Chairman, Post Primary Education Board, Patrick Akporuno has said.

    To mitigate the manpower loss, Akporuno said the PPEB has mandated principals and vice-principals in public secondary schools to teach a specific number of periods weekly.

    His words, “For the avoidance of doubt, vice principals are to teach nine periods per week, while principals are to teach six periods per week”.

    Akporuno said the number of period’s school heads teach may be increased because of the number of people exiting.

    Akporuno said the affected teachers would be exiting service upon their attainment of 60 years of age.

    According to him, the 152 teachers were among the more than 2000 teachers that were employed in 1983, adding that the remaining teachers in the 1983 recruitment batch would all retire from service in September 2018.

    He disclosed that 66 non- teaching staff of the board would also be retiring  between January and March 2018,upon their attainment of 60 years of age.

  • We’re recruiting permanent, pensionable teachers – El-Rufai

    We’re recruiting permanent, pensionable teachers – El-Rufai

    Against the backdrop of speculations that the new 25,000 teachers to be recruited in Kaduna State will be given contract appointments, Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has said that all the new teachers being recruited will get permanent and pensionable appointments.

    El-Rufai said this on Monday during a meeting with the chairmen of the 23 local government councils and their Education Secretaries.

    The meeting received reports from all the 23 councils on the conditions in the schools in their areas.

    The State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) also gave an update on the recruitment process for new teachers, confirming that, the marking of scripts for new recruits has been concluded, and assured the governor that the first batch of newly recruited teachers should be ready for deployment by the middle of February 2018.

    The council officials reported that most teachers in the state are reporting to work, and ignoring the NUT strike.

    The field reports indicated that NUT officials are persisting in their harassment of teachers that are reporting for duty.

    The meeting also heard that many teachers who did not apply anew, or were dissuaded by their union from taking the recruitment test are requesting a second chance.

    Responding to this plea from the Education Secretaries, Malam Nasir El-Rufai said that SUBEB has a programme of continuous recruitment, and as such will give every teacher that is willing a chance to apply and be considered for recruitment.

    “We are not interested in pushing any one away. We are only pushing bad people away so that good ones can come in. That is why we are recruiting 25,000 to take the place of 21,780.”

    The governor said that the police and civil defence forces will provide protection for schools and warned union officials to desist from impeding teachers that are reporting for work, or from seizing attendance registers.

    “The right to strike does not include the right to prevent others from working. Union officials are reminded that school registers are public property, and seizing them amounts to an illegal act.

  • The teacher palaver

    The recent action of the Kaduna State government under Mallam Nasir El Rufai to sack unqualified teachers in his state has generated lots of furore. The move has stirred the hornet’s nest and is now at the front banner of national discourse. The fundamental question of teacher competency and pedagogy in general has for long been a major aspect of the decay in the educational system. While critics are loathsome of the governor‘s insistence on sanitizing the quality of teachers, it as well remains an axiom that what the governor did is in the long term interest of education. Many a critic argues that in the prevailing harsh economic situation where unemployment is a major factor, sacking thousands will add more to the social malaise.

    This position cannot be dismissed at face value, but the counter argument in the circumstance, is much superior and supports the governor‘s stance. To tolerate the presence of teachers who will put the future of millions of our off springs at jeopardy is tantamount to breeding semi-illiterates that will benefit neither themselves nor society. Put in another way –it is better, and a lesser crime to see those teachers off than retaining them. It is a subsisting fact that lots of teachers at the primary school level, especially in the northern states are wanting in terms of their knowledge competency to prepare the children for the future at this their impressionable years, where a solid foundation for the kids must be taken seriously.

    And, one can imagine if such a huge number of teachers- 20 thousand, can be discovered in the North‘s most cosmopolitan state and hence, expectedly more educated; the numbers in other states will be outrageously higher. Since the problem is not an isolate to Kaduna State or localized, it must be seen as a pervasive one and needing urgent measures to ameliorate the situation. While it is apparent that there are a plethora of problems facing the primary education sector, to wit: overpopulation of pupils, inadequate classes, equipment et al, all these problems become insignificant compared to lack of competent teachers because in the end it is what the pupils learn that matters. A whole range of factors have combined to contribute to both paucity of good teachers and even the willingness of otherwise good teachers to teach.

    First, recruitments are influenced by the interests of those who have a ‘say‘ in the running of the schools; therefore, there are ubiquitous teachers recruited on the basis of relationships-emotional or otherwise. And to add insult to injury, promotions and other motivations are most times preserved for those who have somebody to recommend them rather than being outcomes of their being diligently devoted to their works. In effect morale is low among the competent teachers and they always perceive they are there for a while; as they continue to search for other jobs and ready to leave whenever an opportunity arises. And, deductibly, it is seldom one sees the professional teacher of yore, committed and enthusiastic to his/her job.

    There is also the problem of funding to primary education compared to other levels in the sector.  While one could say there is some significant improvements in funding tertiary institutions, a corresponding financing of primary and to some extent secondary education remain poor. Thus, primary school funding is mostly left to the lowest tier of government- the local governments whose allocations are often tampered by their states and whatever trickles down to them are mostly misappropriated such that a backlog of months of teachers’ salaries are owed the poor teachers. Given the situation, how can good teachers be poached and retained with pittance as salaries and with almost zero motivations.

    Now that Kaduna has led the way, other states should take a cue and do their audits in order to sift the chaff from the wheat. Leaders, political or bureaucrats must be bold to take difficult decisions even as vocal and selfish members of society use the political card to dissuade such moves. There is always the tendency to stymie such efforts in view of the‘ next‘ election. For instance, El Rufai‘s opponents want us to believe the sack of teachers as inhuman and sending thousands to the unemployment market; and therefore, a gamble on his part in respect of 2019! It is sheer blackmail and dishonesty as none of these critics want to dwell on the weightier consequences of leaving the future of those children in unsafe hands.

    The governor cannot be faulted on motive, but method. Methinks a further opportunity be given those teachers by way of intensive training especially during vacations and further tests and retests could be conducted such that those who can sail through are retained and those that cannot cope are weeded out. And every disengaged teacher be given his due entitlements promptly; that way the pain of sacked teachers along with those of their dependents can be taken care of.

    The need to audit teacher performance and competence must extend to beyond Kaduna State in respect of public primary schools especially and perhaps beyond that level of education. It is a long overdue need, in order to correct a major contributory factor in the despicable decay of education.

    • Bulama writes from Mairi Village, Maiduguri, Borno State.