New Kaduna teachers ‘to start work in February’

The first batch of teachers employed by the Kaduna state government will assume their new position in February.

Officials of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) said this while giving Nasir el-Rufai, the governor, an update on the recruitment process.

SUBEB officials confirmed that the marking of scripts for new recruits had been concluded, and assured the governor that the first batch of newly recruited teachers would be ready for deployment by the middle of February.

El-Rufai met with chairmen of the 23 local government areas and their education secretaries on Monday.

He received reports from all the 23 councils on the conditions in the schools in their areas.

According to Samuel Aruwan, spokesman of the governor, the council officials reported that most teachers in Kaduna were reporting to work, and ignoring the strike called by the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT).

NUT had asked the teachers to stay away from work in protest of the decision of the government to sack over 20,000 teachers who failed a competency test.

“The field reports indicated that NUT officials are persisting in their harassment of teachers that are reporting for duty,” Aruwan said in a statement.

“This illegal action is being aggravated by the seizure of school attendance registers by some of the union officials.

“The meeting also heard that many teachers who did not apply anew, or were dissuaded by their union from taking the recruitment test are requesting a second chance.”

El-Rufai said that SUBEB has a programme of continuous recruitment, and as such will give every teacher that is willing a chance to apply and be considered for recruitment.

“We are not interested in pushing anyone away,” he said.

“We are pushing bad people away so that good ones can come in. That is why we are recruiting 25,000 to take the place of 21,780.”

The governor said the police and civil defence forces will provide protection for schools.

He warned union officials to desist from impeding teachers that are reporting for work, or from seizing attendance registers.

“The right to strike does not include the right to prevent others from working. Union officials are reminded that school registers are public property, and seizing them amounts to an illegal act.”