. . . Asks Supreme Court Justices to unionise

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has carpeted Kaduna State Government over what it described as vindictive, illegal and absolutely wicked dismissal of 2,357 teachers, including the National President of Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Audu Amba, for allegedly failing or refusing to sit for the competency test organised by the State Universal Basic Education Board (KADSUBEB) which the rights group described as a self-help measure by the Kaduna State Governor for political reasons that workers protested against his inhuman regime.

HURIWA said the position of the Kaduna State's chairman of the NUT, Ibrahim Dalhatu, that the competency test and dismissal of the teachers were illegal, was the correct position of the employment law because ab initio, the teachers' conditions of service does not include this so-called politically motivated competency test which the HURIWA described as a contravention of Section 42 of the Constitution because the Governor, being an employee of the voters in Kaduna State and his appointees were not subjected to such competency test, thereby making the policy discriminatory.

HURIWA’S position was endorsed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a media Statement.

HURIWA recalled that KADSUBEB in a statement on Sunday said the Board conducted a competency test for over 30,000 teachers in Dec. 2021. KADSUBEB said 2,192 primary school teachers, including NUT National President, had been dismissed for refusing to sit for the competency test. It said some 165 of the 27,662 teachers that sat for the competency test were also sacked for poor performances.

HURIWA quoted the Kaduna teaching board as saying too that:”Following the State Government’s resolution for continued assessment of teachers to ensure better delivery of learning outcomes for pupils, KADSUBEB conducted another competency test for the teachers in December 2021.“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 are recognised as those who passed the test and qualified for attending courses in leadership and school management.

“Teachers who scored between 40 and 74 per cent did not meet up with the minimum pass mark, they will be given a second chance to improve their capacities. KADSUBEB has initiated viable training programmes for teachers under its statutory TPD with support from the state government and development partners. The training programmes will be conducted during the end of term vacation and in their respective schools, to minimise disruptions of teaching and learning."

HURIWA however backs the head of the Teachers Union in Kaduna State Mr. Dalhatu who rightly described the competency test and the sacking of the teachers as illegal.

HURIWA quoted Comrade Dalhatu as arguing rightly thus: "We have secured a court order restraining the Board from conducting the competency test, it conducted the test without recourse to the rule of law."