KADUNA, JANUARY 9, 2018 – In spite of the on-going strike, Kaduna state government has continued with its recruitment to replace 25,000 teachers that failed primary four competency test.
As teachers embarked on industrial action to protest against the sack of the teachers that failed the test, the government has concluded marking of scripts of 43,000 applicants who applied to replace the sacked teachers.
The State Government on Tuesday said the on-going strike organised by the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) would not stop its education reform.
Mr. Samuel Aruwan, Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai, said the state government would not allow unqualified teachers in its schools.
He said the state government was determined to protect the future of the students as more than two million pupils were enrolled in public primary schools.
Aruwan commended teachers who reported to work in spite of efforts by the NUT to unlawfully prevent them from working.
He said the government had begun collation of reports from education administrators on teachers and reiterated that teachers who absented themselves from work would be sanctioned according to the law.
“Appropriate reminder of the potency of these rules (laws) has been issued in previous government statements.
“Across the state, the illegality of the NUT’s strike action is being compounded by physical attempts to frustrate those teachers who wish to work.
“No law permits any worker to tamper with another’s right to work. The attention of the security agencies has been drawn to this dangerous pattern of conduct,” Aruwan said.
The state government, had in 2017, set primary four questions to test the competency of all the primary school teachers.
No fewer than 25,000 teachers out of the 31,000 failed the examination and the government decided to engage new and qualified teachers to replace those that failed the examination.
The union has kicked against the decision of the government.
