El-Rufai: No Amount of Propaganda, Blackmail will Derail Reforms in Education

John Shiklam

Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, has said no amount of propaganda, blackmail and deliberate misrepresentation of facts will derail the reforms in the education sector.

Speaking at a consultative meeting with the state members of the National Assembly in Abuja, the governor appealed to the lawmakers to support the reforms to ensure quality education in public schools.

Spokesman to the governor, Samuel Aruwan, in a statement yesterday in Kaduna after the governor’s meeting with the lawmakers on Wednesday, quoted the governor as saying that the reform is not restricted to recruiting and retaining competent teachers but includes the construction and reconstructing of schools, class rooms as well as updating the curriculum and providing facilities.

About 2,000 teachers said to have failed competency test are to be sacked.

This has pitched the governor against the teachers and labour unions, especially, the state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) who have vowed to resist the sack.

El-Rufai disclosed that 43,806 applications had been received from prospective teachers.

The state government plans to recruit 25,000 teachers to replace those to be sacked.

The governor said shortlisted applicants would be subjected to oral and practical examinations to be followed by interview and final verification to ascertain the authenticity of their qualifications.

According to him, those who scale through will undergo training on teaching before their deployment to classrooms to teach.

However, the three senators from the state - Danjuma Laah (PDP), representing Southern Kaduna senatorial zone; Shehu Sani (APC), Kaduna Central and Suleiman Hunkuyi (APC), Kaduna North who kicked against the policy were not at the meeting.

The governor said: “The issue of ensuring quality and competent teachers in public schools is something crucial and doable, but it requires courage, sincerity and honesty as guiding principles.

“We are all products of quality public schools and can compete anywhere in the world; we are beneficiaries of quality education from public schools and we have achieved a lot from the sacrifices made by previous leaders.”

He added: “Having benefitted from quality public education, we must be committed to reviving our public schools.

“The unqualified teachers that are being replaced will get all their rights and entitlements.

“This reform is a necessary hard work, and will not be derailed by propaganda, blackmail, and deliberate misrepresentation of facts.

“Reform is not restricted to recruiting and retaining competent teachers. We are constructing and reconstructing schools, class rooms, updating the curriculum, providing facilities and teaching aids and teachers’ welfare.

“We removed the career barrier for teachers in 2015. Teachers in Kaduna State can rise to Grade Level 17 (Permanent Secretary grade) without having to stop being teachers.”

The governor thanked the lawmakers for their immense support irrespective of political parties.