Competency test: NUT fumes as Kaduna govt sacks Union Boss, 2,356 others

The Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (KADSUBEB) said it has sacked 2,357 teachers for their inability to pass the competency test.

KADSUBEB in a statement by Hauwa Mohammed, said the Board conducted a competency test for over 30,000 teachers in December 2021.

She said 2,192 primary school teachers including the National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) had been dismissed for refusing to sit for the competency test.

According to her, some 165 of the 27,662 teachers that sat for the competency test were also sacked for poor performances.

The Board said: “The services of teachers who scored below 40 per cent are no longer required and their appointments have been terminated from the Public Service for their poor performances.

“Teachers who scored 75 per cent and above were recognised as those who passed the test and qualified for attending courses in leadership and school management,” she said.

Hauwa Mohammed said qualified teachers will be included in Teacher Professional Development (TPD) programmes to enhance their capacities to deliver quality teaching to pupils.

However, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in the state said the competency test and the sacking were illegal.

Its Chairman, Ibrahim Dalhatu, said they had have secured a court order restraining the Board from conducting the competency test, but it went ahead with it without recourse to the rule of law.

“We asked the teachers not to write the examination after learning that the intent was to sack them.We warned that any teacher who participates in the illegal examination would not be protected by the union if victimised but some of the teachers went ahead to write the examination out of fear.”

“We are not against the conduct of the competency test if due process is followed, but it should not be used as a basis for sacking teachers.The competency test should be used to determine teachers’ capacity gap and tailored specific training programmes to improve their capacities,” he said.

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