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Tag: Teachers

  • Kaduna commences fresh competency test for 35,000 teachers

    Kaduna commences fresh competency test for 35,000 teachers

    The Kaduna State Government has commenced another competency test for primary school teachers as part of efforts to ensure quality teaching and learning in basic schools across the state.

    This comes almost four years after it conducted a similar exercise that led to the dismissal of 22,000 unqualified teachers and the recruitment of 25,000 qualified ones.

    Speaking at the commencement of the computer-based test held in three different centres, the Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Tijjani Abdullahi said the competency test is not to sack any teacher but to identify gaps in the subject areas for the purpose of training and retraining the teachers.

    “The teachers that are here will see the difference in the approach of the testing,” the State SUBEB Chairman told journalists.

    In 2017, the Kaduna State Ministry of Education sacked over 20,000 unqualified teachers who failed a test conducted to determine their competency.

    The decision which pitched the Nigerian Union of Teachers, the Nigerian Labour Congress ( NLC) against the state government, saw the two Labour unions embarking on a peaceful protest.

    Despite the dust it generated, the government stuck to its guns and subsequently went ahead to employ about 25,000 new qualified teachers to fill the gaps.

    Four years down the line, the Kaduna State Government is embarking on the same process of assessing the competency of the newly recruited teachers through a computer-based system.

    The teachers are expected to write ten questions per subject; English language, Mathematics, Social studies and basic science.

  • NUT backs sacking of Kaduna State ‘fake’ teachers if…

    NUT backs sacking of Kaduna State ‘fake’ teachers if…

    The Kaduna State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) on Thursday backed the state government’s decision to sack 233 teachers alleged to have been working with fake certificates.

    The Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Dalhatu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna that the union would not defend any teacher with fake certificates.

    “As far as NUT is concerned, we will not defend them if the allegation of tendering fake certificates is true.

    “We have instructed the affected teachers that if any of them have a genuine certificate and his or her name is on the list, they should submit the certificate to us.

    “We will follow up with Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to rectify the issue,’’ he said.

    On the competency test for public primary school teachers, the NUT chairman said that the union’s decision not to participate in the test had not changed.

    According to him, only the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria has the mandate to test and certify a professional teacher and not any state government agency.

    “We will not go for any test. If the Kaduna SUBEB wants to assess the performance of our members, it should follow them to the class and assess them while they are teaching pupils,’’ he said.

    The NUT National Executive Council had on Nov. 18 directed its members in Kaduna State not to participate in the competency test organised by the state government.

    The Deputy National President of the union, Mr Kelvin Nwankwo, who gave the directive, insisted that teachers’ competence had been proved by various accredited universities and colleges of education.

    He stressed that the teachers were also tested before they were hired.

    According to him, the NUT affirms and relies on the provisions of Section 1(d) of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) Act 2004, which made provisions for the regulation and control of the teaching profession.

    “As teachers who belong to a professional body, registered and licensed, we shall only subject ourselves to any professional recommendation issued by our Regulatory Council, and to no other body,’’ Nwankwo said.

    NAN reports that the list of the affected teachers provided by the Kaduna SUBEB shows that 210 out of the 233 affected teachers claimed to have obtained their certificates at the National Teachers Institute, Kaduna.

    Kaduna SUBEB’s Executive Chairman, Mr Tijjani Abdullahi, had announced earlier on Thursday that the board would sack 233 primary school teachers for allegedly presenting fake certificates.

    Abdullahi said the board would forward the files of affected teachers to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution.

    The SUBEB boss also disclosed that the board would conduct competency test for primary school teachers as part of continued assessment of their capacity to ensure quality teaching.

  • Kaduna Govt to boot 233 teachers over fake certificates

    Kaduna Govt to boot 233 teachers over fake certificates

    The Kaduna State Government is set to dismiss 233 teachers over allegations of fake certificates.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Tijjani Abdullahi, Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (KADSUBEB) made this known on Thursday.

    Abdullahi said the files of the teachers affected will be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice to initiate prosecution for forgery.

    He said: “The Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (KADSUBEB) wishes to update you on recent developments in its continuous quest to improve standards in public basic education schools.

    “As part of its responsibility to ensure that all teachers actually have the qualifications they presented, the Board launched a certificate verification exercise in April 2021. The major objective of this exercise was to ensure that all our teachers have the requisite credentials that constitute the basic qualifications for employment as teachers.

    “So far, the Board has verified 451 certificates by contacting the institutions that awarded the certificates. Nine of the 13 institutions contacted have responded, as at today.

    “The responses from the institutions show that 233 teachers presented fake certificates. This represents 51% of the 451 certificates on which responses have been received from the awarding institutions. One institution disowned 212 of these 233 fake certificates.

    “The Board will dismiss the 233 teachers who presented these fake certificates, while their files will be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice to initiate prosecution for forgery. The Board will continue to check the integrity of the certificates presented by teachers to ensure that this critical profession is not devalued by impostors.

    “As part of our duty of transparency, the names of the 233 teachers found to have presented fake certificates will be uploaded on the website of the Kaduna State Government today.

    “The Board also wishes to inform the people of Kaduna State that it will shortly be conducting the competency test for teachers. When the Kaduna State Government recruited 25,000 new teachers after the 2017 competency test, it made clear that it will continue to assess its teachers both for their own improvement and for better delivery of learning outcomes for pupils.

    “The Board will follow up the competency test with series of training programmes, organised in batches for teachers. This will begin in January 2022 for 12,254 teachers. The Board has signed MoUs with the National Teachers Institute, the College of Education, Gidan Waya, and the Federal College of Education, Zaria, to conduct the training exercise”.

  • Reps pass bill to raise teachers’ retirement age, service years

    Reps pass bill to raise teachers’ retirement age, service years

    Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have passed a bill for a harmonised retirement age for teachers in the country.

    The executive bill was passed on Tuesday at the resumption of plenary in the lower chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    Sponsored by the House Leader, Alhassan Doguwa, and his colleague Adekoya Abdul-Majid, the bill seeks to raise the retirement age for teachers from 60 to 65 years, as well as to increase the years of service from 35 to 40 years.

    According to Doguwa, the bill seeks to continue to update the laws governing the working conditions of people in the education sector in good faith of the preservation of knowledge through good resources embedded in teachers.

    Meanwhile, several new bills were presented during plenary on Tuesday in the green chamber. They include Orthopaedic Hospital, Dekina, Kogi State (Establishment) Bill, Sickle Cell Disease (Prevention, Control and Management) Bill, Nationwide Emergency Communications Service Bill, and Federal Medical Centre, Owutu Edda (Establishment) Bill.

    Others are the National Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Studies, Abak (Establishment) Bill, Fire Service Act (Amendment) Bill, National Institute of Technology (NIT) Abuja, (Establishment) Bill, Port-Area Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, Federal Medical Centre, Gumel, Jigawa State (Establishment) Bill, Counterfeit Medical Products, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Prohibition and Control) Bill, and National Health Insurance Scheme Act (Amendment) Bill.

    Also presented are Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act (Amendment) Bill, Criminal Code Act (Amendment) Bill, Companies and Allied Matters Act (Amendment) Bill, Bureau of Defence Logistics (Establishment) Bill, Federal College of Agriculture, Etim Ekpo, Akwa Ibom State (Establishment) Bill, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Alteration) Bill, Veterinary Teaching Hospitals of Universities and Veterinary Specialist Hospitals (Establishment) Bill, and Unified and Special Operations Forces (Establishment) Bill.

    Bills also read for the first time are Federal School of Medical Laboratory Technology, Gboko (Establishment) Bill, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Alteration) Bill, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund Act (Amendment) Bill, National Archives Act (Amendment) Bill, Human Resource Development Council (Establishment) Bill, Currency Offences Act (Amendment) Bill, and Employees’ Compensation Act (Amendment) Bill, among others.

  • Why I tested, sacked teachers in Kaduna despite threats of losing re-election – El-Rufai

    Why I tested, sacked teachers in Kaduna despite threats of losing re-election – El-Rufai

    Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has explained how he was willing to sacrifice his second term ambition in order to give children from his state quality education.

    The governor sought re-election for a second term in office in the 2019 general elections and has two more years to complete his tenure.

    Speaking during the Ekiti State’s Fountain Summit 2021 with the theme ‘Investment Attractiveness and Economic Development in Ekiti State’ which held in Ado-Ekiti, El-Rufai said he was threatened with an election loss.

    El-Rufai said he insisted and eventually carried out the test on teachers in Kaduna notwithstanding the threat.

    “My brother here was said to have lost his second term bid the first time because he threatened to test teachers,” he said.

    “I tested them and fired them before our election. When I was asked that I would lose the second term, I said if losing second term in office will give Kaduna State children a future with better primary education, I am ready to let it go.”

    El-Rufai also listed two factors that enabled him retain his position as Kaduna governor, noting that he timed the mandatory test for teachers within his first two years in office and that the exercise was carried out honestly without partisan politics.

    While noting that he attended government schools in his life until he went for his second degree, El-Rufai noted that his administration sent a clear message that the poor man’s child in Kaduna was eligible to emerge as governor.

    He recalled that while sacking teachers, two of his colleagues backed his decision but expressed fear in implementing the policy in their respective states.

    According to him, the two governors who wanted to conduct teachers’ tests after their re-elections however lost their second term bids.

  • Teachers to enjoy new salary structure from January – FG

    Teachers to enjoy new salary structure from January – FG

    The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, says teachers will begin to enjoy the new salary structure promised by President Muhammadu Buhari from January 2022.

    Nwajiuba made the disclosure on Thursday, in Abuja at a symposium organised by the Ministry of Education.

    The symposium is part of activities to mark the forthcoming 2021 World Teachers Day with the theme “Teachers at the Heart of Education Recovery”.

    The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Sonny Echono, noted that work was being concluded on the enhanced salary structure.

    He further disclosed work was also being concluded on other incentives promised by the president during the 2020 World Teachers’ Day.

    He stressed that the other incentives ranged from allowances, housing, training, to elongated of service year from 35 to 40.

    “The President has approved the enhanced salary structure and we will finish it very soon.

    “The president specifically approved that it should take effect from 2022.

    “We are doing all to finish it to ensure that by January 2022, teachers should get the remuneration they deserve.

    “We are fast tracking the process of implementation to see that by the end of year we will be able to tell Mr President that all the incentives he has approved are ready for implementation,”he said.

    He further said, ” the President has taken the lead by approving a far reaching and revitalising programme for the teaching profession in this country and there are many soft incentives in that.

    “All that is required is for other actors down the line like state governors, the National Assembly and others to key into this initiative and ensure that the implementation is seamless.

    “For instance, we are tired of hearing how long teachers are being owed salaries in states.

    “It is criminal. So, with the new initiative, we have incentives to attract the best brains and retain them in the teaching profession.

    “All welfare issues including housing, training and retraining, enhanced remuneration, allowances are being taken care of,” he said.

    He commended Nigerian teachers for the sacrifice in spite of the many challenges faced in the course of their duties.

    He, urged them to retune themselves to fit into the new normal occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic by being more technology savvy.

    Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, the Guest Speaker at the event, said the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed world education system, with African countries most hit.

    Ajiboye, who is the Registrar and Chief Executive of Teachers Registration Council(TRCN), said every country of the world was affected by the pandemic.

    He, however, said while some continents were able to quickly adjust to the new normal, African countries including Nigeria found it difficult t adjust to a technology base learning.

    He said, “our problem in Africa was compounded as only one third had access to internet facilities.

    “In Nigeria, about 62 per cent of the population have access internet facility.

    “Unfortunately about 97 per cent of the number are in the urban areas, creating huge digital divide between the urban and rural areas.

    “We know that government tried helping to bridge the gap by engaging the media especially radio for those in the rural areas but not much was achieved with that.”

    He said the new normal of use of Information Communication Technology(ICT) for teaching and learning had come to stay and the Nigerian teachers could not afford to be left behind.

    He encouraged teachers to take up ICT trainings in order to be relevant in the 21st century, adding that the role of the teacher was gravitating more towards that of a facilitator.

    Ajiboye assured that the TRCN would continue to play its role in developing a career path for Nigerian teachers among other things.

  • NUT threatens to stop teaching if govt fails to curb insecurity in North

    The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), has threatened to stop teaching if the spate of violence in schools especially in the North were not stopped.

    It would be recalled that in the last six months, students and teachers have been kidnapped from schools in Katsina, Niger, Zamfara and Kaduna states, all in the North West.

    Speaking with journalists, Secretary General of the NUT, Dr. Mike Ene, who decried the failure of government at all levels to prioritise education, said the neglect of education might be because it was on the concurrent list, adding that if it weren’t, the Safe School Initiative (SSI), which was launched in 2014, ought to have been put in place to ensure teachers safety.

    He expressed shock over the seemingly confusion and inability of government and security agencies to address the degenerating insecurity in the country. He said: “It is one too many; they kidnap today.

    In the next 48 hours, they kidnap again and if security operatives rush there, they go to another location and kidnap. People are asking who is playing the Ostrich?

    “Is it because the government does not know what to do, they can’t plan their strategies or that those who know that security is the business of everybody don’t want to talk because in every community or kindred, they know each other. So, when there is a foreign party, somebody should say something. “NUT is highly worried.

    We started crying that schools have become soft targets when it was with Chibok but right now, it has become a daily occurrence where they take away the pupils and the teachers.”

    The NUT scribe further tackled state governors for not making judicious use of security votes, especially in the North where a sect seemed to have declared war on western education.

    He continued: “I wonder what they are looking for by kidnapping teachers. Is it that the kidnappers do not want western education to go on in this country again or it is now the business where the rich is sponsoring the poor to risk their lives to go and kidnap, so that when they come to an agreed place they keep them. “We talk about security votes. What is this security vote?

    How much is it and how are they using it? Do they use it to set up vigilante here and there or to bring securities that can come and kill security in the school? “For instance, land is not a problem in the north.

    So, you can find a school sitting on one hectare of land but you will find only two unarmed security men, probably one in the morning and the second at night. They just ask a few questions and allow people in. “That is not security.

    The kind of security we are referring to is a combination of all uniformed men including the ones hired by the state government locally, fully armed and placed in strategic places and they raise an alarm once they find any suspicious movement.

    “I am sure the weaponry we have and the fine training of our military and other security is far better than what these so called bandits have. So, it’s a question of the way of gathering information and how we interpret it, so we can flush out these people.

    “Therefore, the issue of kidnapping teachers is highly worrisome and we are saying if it continues, we will review our position and ask our employees to assure us. “It is highly condemnable. We all frown at it and we are engaging the governors in affected states to intensify security in our schools.”

    With 10,193,918 OSC children, Nigeria has the highest number of children not in school globally, and most recently, experts have said an additional three million children have been added to the number due to insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • We’ve saved N400m from teachers’ verification exercise in Borno – Zulum

    We’ve saved N400m from teachers’ verification exercise in Borno – Zulum

    Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno says his administration has saved over N400 million from the verification of teaching and non-teaching staffers of public primary schools in the state.

    Zulum made this known in Maiduguri on Tuesday while inaugurating the Need Assessment Team on Education and Health in the state.

    Zulum said that the team was saddled with the responsibility of finding out what needed to be done to improve the quality of education and healthcare services in rural areas in the state.

    He said that his administration had renovated and constructed many schools and health centres in rural areas to improve education and primary healthcare delivery.

    The governor stressed the need to know the number of qualified staff members and facilities needed to make them function properly, in line with his government’s 10-point agenda and 25-year development plan.

    He added that membership of the assessment team, comprising all members of the House of Assembly, local government chairmen, commissioners, permanent secretaries and primary healthcare coordinators, among others, would be divided into three groups to handle the three senatorial districts.

    Zulum said that the team was expected to visit schools and health centres in each local government area to ascertain the number of staffers, those who were qualified, what their needs were and other vital information for government to know what to do within the next two years.

    According to him, it is no longer acceptable for top government officials to continue to send their children and wards to private schools with qualified teachers, leaving children of the rural populace to continue to attend public schools without qualified teachers.

  • Buhari sends Executive Bill on extension of teachers’ retirement age to NASS

    Buhari sends Executive Bill on extension of teachers’ retirement age to NASS

    President Muhammadu Buhari has transmitted an Executive Bill to the Senate, seeking extension of retirement age for teachers from 60 to 65 years.

    Senate President, Ahmad Lawan read the letter on the floor of the senate at Wednesday’s plenary.

    Lawan explained that the bill would harmonised the retirement age for teachers in Nigeria.

    According to him, the move to increase the retirement age and service years for teachers is in pursuant to section 58(2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

    “Transmission of the harmonised retirement age for teachers in Nigeria bill 2021 to the National Assembly for consideration.

    “Pursuant to section 58 (2 ) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), I forward herewith the harmonised retirement age for teachers in Nigeria Bill, 2021 for consideration by the Senate.

    “The harmonised retirement age for teachers in Nigeria Bill 2021 seeks to increase the retirement age for teachers from 60 to 65 years, and also increase the possible years of service from 35 to 40 years.

    “While appreciating your usual expeditious consideration of this submission, please accept the assurances of my highest consideration,” Buhari said.

    Lawan also during the plenary, referred Buhari’s request for confirmation of Maj.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to Senate Committees on Defense and Army.

    The Defense Committee led by Sen. Aliyu Wamakko (APC-Sokoto), was mandated to lead the screening for the newly appointed COAS.

  • 16 kindergarten children, two teachers injured in knife-stabbing incident

    16 kindergarten children, two teachers injured in knife-stabbing incident

    Authorities on Wednesday reported that 16 kindergarten children and two teachers were injured in a knife-stabbing incident.

    The unpleasant episode happened in Beiliu City, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

    The city’s publicity department also said that the incident took place in a kindergarten in Xinfeng Town at around 2 p.m.

    The wounded, including two seriously injured children, have been sent to hospital for medical treatment.

    Police has arrested the man who stabbed those people.

    The police however said that investigation is underway.