Kaduna teachers kick against another competency test by state govt
The NUT said a similar test in 2017 led to the disengagement of about 22,000 teachers that allegedly failed the test.
El-Rufai and protesting Kaduna teachers
A composite of El-Rufai and protesting Kaduna teachers used to illustrate the story
Teachers in Kaduna, under the aegis of The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), say none of their members in public primary schools will sit for the competency test being organised by the state government.
The union stated this in a communique issued at the end of an emergency meeting of its executive council, held in Kaduna on Wednesday.
The teachers union maintained that writing a competency test does not determine the competency of a teacher.
“Competence of teachers can only be appropriately determined in the classroom and the last test had already produced competent teachers.
“This is because the newly recruited teachers were subjected to rigorous examinations and verifications before being employed into the teaching service,” it said.
The communique signed by the State Chairman, Ibrahim Dalhatu, and the Assistant Secretary-General, Adamu Ango, advised the government to re-channel resources meant for the test to training teachers.
The state government had in January 2018, sacked about 22,000 teachers for failing a competency test conducted in 2017.
On July 14, the government announced plans to conduct another competency test for primary school teachers to ensure quality teaching in basic schools.
But the union, after its emergency meeting over the planned test on Wednesday, unanimously resolved that no teacher in public primary school will sit for a competency test again.
The union stressed that it was not against having professional and competent teachers in the classroom, adding that it would support an exercise that was aimed at reviving the education sector.
It however argued that determining the competency of teachers in their own field of endeavour could not be done by the government alone.
“Therefore, setting a standard by the government can only be valid if the appropriate regulatory bodies like the Teachers Registration Council are involved,” it said.
The union recalled that it supported the competency test conducted in 2017 to improve the quality of teaching and learning in public primary schools in the state.
It said that the exercise, however, led to the disengagement of about 22,000 teachers that allegedly failed the test.
The Kaduna state government recruited 25,000 qualified teachers to replace the sacked ones.
9Naija 