The Mainan Zazzau Communication Committee has called on Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state to toll the path of sanity and pragmatism on the issue of teachers’ sack.
They urged him to give the ‘incompetent’ teachers a grace period of six to 12months to go back to relevant institutions to update their knowledge and skills; rather than outrightly sacking them.
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A statement issued and signed by the secretary of the committee, Ibrahim Adamu Zango and made available to newsmen in Kaduna described the sack the disengagement of the over 21,000 teachers under the guise of education sector reforms as a huge setback to the rule of law and natural justice.
It would be recalled that 21,780 out of 33,000 primary school teachers were said to have failed the primary four exam conducted by the state government to test their competency. Saddened by the performance of the teachers, the state government began shopping for 25,000 teachers to replace those who failed.
According to the committee, those who do not make the requisite qualifications after the grace period may then be dismissed but they must be paid all entitlements specified in their terms of service.
The committee however noted that while Kano and Sokoto governments have fashioned remedial programmes to train and re-train under-qualified teachers, Governor El-Rufai has chosen the most draconian and ultimately destructive solution. “This is totally unacceptable,” it says.
“Coming during a deep recession and a period characterized by high unemployment especially among the youth, massive sack of teachers is a recipe for the total breakdown of law and order as well as the onset of chaos.
There is no doubt that the educational system nationwide is at the verge of failing completely. The poor performance of candidates at the WAEC/NECO examinations in recent years is the clearest indicator that all is far from well,”
“Higher up, the abysmal quality of recent university graduates speaks volumes on the rot in the education sector at all levels. Assessment tests recently carried out by several state governments notably Kano, Kaduna and Sokoto undoubtedly showed that teacher quality in public schools is at its lowest.
Nonetheless, these teachers have rights as citizens of Kaduna State and as bonafide employees of the state government.
They were duly employed under terms and conditions of service none of which were adhered to in coming to the decision to unceremoniously relieving them of their appointments,” the statement reads in part.
The statement further reads, “The effort to make public schools better must not stop there. We know that till date, pupils in 50 percent of public schools in the state sit on the floor due to absence of furniture.
“Most of the 4,250 public primary schools have no doors, roofs and windows. There are also no water and toilet facilities. Some of the schools are heavily over-populated with more than the required number of students.
“All these are fundamental problems that militate against good education for the teeming masses. They need to be tackled urgently if the government is really serious about reforming the system.”
