Ekiti teachers defy government, snub tests

Teachers working in the public schools of the western Nigerian state of Ekiti on Monday defied the state government by shunning the Teachers’ Development Needs Assessment(TDNA) examination.

The examination, which was postponed thrice over disagreements with the teachers, was supposed to commence with a training session between 9:am and 12 noon.

However, investigation indicated that all the examination centres were empty with only a few supervisors, Area Education Officers of councils and security men in sight.

Investigation also revealed that rumour had been milling around Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, since Sunday that all the 39 designated centres had been laced with fetish substances.

This, it was learnt, further scared away the teachers from the examination which was billed to end at 3:pm.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a similar examination was conducted for some top officers of the Local Government Service Commission and principals in public schools last year.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers and the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools had on Friday issued a directive that their members should observe a one-day strike on Monday.

The Area Education Officer of Ado Ekiti Local Government, Mr Sunday Ojo, told journalists at Ola-Oluwa Muslim Grammar School in Ado Ekiti that none of the teachers had turned up as at 10.17am.

At the African Church Comprehensive High School Centre, Ikere Ekiti, the Education Secretary of the Ikere Local Government, Mrs Florence Ajayi, also told journalists no teacher wrote the examination.

Similarly at St. Louis Grammar School, Ikere Ekiti, the Area Education Officer of the council, Mrs Rachael Adeagbo, confirmed that no teacher turned up for the exercise.

A consultant hired by the state government, Prof. Bayode Popoola, said the teachers’ defiant position had frustrated a capacity building workshop he was contracted to organise on Monday.

Popoola said he was not aware of the TDNA of the state government, adding that his primary assignment was to train the teachers to build their intellect and teaching methodology.

He said government also hired the services of experts from the University of Ibadan and Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti to handle similar a programme.

But the Commissioner for Information, Mr Funminiyi Afuye, while monitoring the exercise said the government would not be deterred by the teachers’ defiant posture.

Afuye faulted the NUT for allegedly turning the issue into a trade union matter, saying it was a government policy that required no union intervention.

“This is not a matter that deals with the welfare of the teachers and they have not been cheated in any way; so they have no reason to declare any strike or order the teachers to shun the examination,’’ he said.