Teachers boycott Gov. Oshiomhole's competency test

Prof. denis Agbolanhor

Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor

JEHTRO IBILEKE/Benin

Fewer than two hundred school teachers in Edo state, in southern Nigeria, participated in Saturday’s controversial competency test ordered by Adams Oshiomhole’s government ‎for public school teachers in the state.

Most teachers shunned the test.

Seventy-three teachers were accredited in Edo south, while about 14 and 12 were accredited in Edo central and north respectively in the test scheduled to hold simultaneously in the three senatorial districts.

The test was meant to determine the eligibility of ‎the over 13, 000 teachers in the employment of the state government to continue as teachers in its schools.

The University of Benin (UNIBEN)-venue of the test for teachers in Edo south, was beehive of activities, but mostly for part time students of the University, as very few teachers presented themselves for the test, while accreditation was done at the basement.

‎Apprehension and fear of the unknown were clearly written on the faces of the teachers seen at the various lecture halls designated for the test. They said they have to come for fear of losing their jobs, should the state government eventually win the case against their Unions.

“My‎ brother, I come oh. What if Oshiomhole wins the case and he sacked us for not coming? Will the Union feed me? That’s why I decided to come and see what is happening,” he said.

Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor
Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor

Primary school teachers in seven local government areas of Edo South were assigned to write the test in the Departments of Agric, Social Sciences, Education‎, while all secondary school teachers were assigned to Physical Sciences Department. As at 9:45 am, about 26 teachers were said to have been accredited for the competency test.

One of the accredited teachers who did not want his name in print, said: “‎I am here to observe. I may perform accreditation and not write the test. It is when you see me in the exams hall that you can accuse me of writing the test.”

It was learned that fewer than 15 teachers presented themselves for the test in Edo central, while an observer of the exercise described compliance by teachers in Edo north as “very scanty,” even with the presence of security personnel and Chairman of State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB), Joseph Alao.

Counsel to Academic Staff Union of Secondary School (ASSUS), Bar. Olayiwola Afolabi who was at the accreditation venue, expressed displeasure over the State government’s decision to go ahead with the competency test even when a subsisting court ‎injunction ruled otherwise.

He debunked allegation credited to the State commissioner for Information, Loius Odion that the Court order was not served on the state government, adding that the Court order was pasted on the walls of their offices when they were evading them.

“The moment you fail to obey court order, it is contempt of court. Edo state government is not above the law. It is on record that a former Attoney-General of this State went to prison because of contempt of Court order. If they go ahead with the test, we will file contempt charges against the government of Edo state and we will jail them,” Afolabi said.

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To the teachers who showed up at the accreditation centre, Afolabi said, “I advise the teachers to ignore the threat. There was total compliance in Auchi and Ekpoma and I thanked God for the lives of those teachers.”

Some officials of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), who spoke to press on condition of anonymity, said ‎they were not there to tell the teachers whether to take the competency test or not, adding that as an adult, each teacher would decide whether to take test does or not.

‎The state commissioner for Higher Education, Washington Osifo who accompanied the chairman of the assessment test committee, Prof. Denis Agbonlahor to the accreditation hall, said the state government was not aware of any court injunction stopping the state government from conducting the test.

•Governor  Oshiomhole: defied by teachers
•Governor Oshiomhole: defied by teachers

“Government is set to conduct the assessment test. Nobody will force anybody to do what is right. The test is in the interest of the teachers and Edo children. We are not aware of any restraining order stopping the test. An attempt to get an order doess not in itself translate to an order stopping the conduct of the test,” Osifo said.

Prof. Agbonlahor however declined to comment on the exercise.

They were apparently disappointed by the very low turn out of the teachers.

It would be recalled that Edo Sate government in a press statement released on Friday, insisted that the test would hold as scheduled, even though the National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Abuja has restrained the government and the Committee it set up to conduct the test from doing so pending the hearing and determination of suit brought before it by the teachers.

Following the court order, the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), directed its members to stay away from the competency test.

Briefing journalists in Benin on Friday, the Administrative Secretary of ASUSS, Comrade Monday Anigala, said “there is an existing Court order from the National Industrial Court restraining government and the Agbonlahor-led committee from conducting any assessment or competency for secondary/technical teachers in Edo state,” warning that any attempt to go ahead to conduct the test was tantamount to contempt of Court.

He therefore directed all secondary schools teachers in the state to disregard whatever threat by government aimed at coercing them to writing any form of test or examination, just as he expressed disappointment over alleged recruitment of touts, paid agents to pose as teachers, technical school teachers and principals in the examination centres in order to deceive the teachers and the public that the competency test was taking place.

Ruling on a Motion Ex-parte brought by Counsel to the secondary schools teachers; Olayiwola Afolabi, the National Industrial Court, presided over by Justice B. A. Adejumo, granted an interim order of injunction restraining the defendants, whether by themselves, agents, servants or privies from conducting any competency test for the claimants/applicants pending the determination of the substantive suit.

“An interim Injunction restraining the defendants from carrying out any act covertly or covertly or doing anything inconsistent with the present employment of the claimants/applicants either by withholding their salaries, allowances and or any of their entitlements or terminating their appointments on the competency test pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice herein is hereby ordered,” the Court said.

The Court also ordered that neither of the claimants/applicants nor any of the defendants shall involve itself in any act of commission or omission that may lead to break down of law and order as a result of the subject matter contained in the Motion Exc-parte or Motion on Notice.

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