Why we sacked 22,000 teachers - El-Rufai

Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has said the government sacked over 22,000 teachers because they were unqualified for the job.

According to him, sacking of incompetent teachers predated his administration, as previous governments sacked teachers with fake qualifications.

He noted that the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN) report he received on assumption of office, showed that 83 per cent of the teachers scored less than 25 per cent in Maths and literacy exams.

The governor, who spoke in a broadcast, recalled that the government of Sir Patrick Yakowa dismissed 4,000 teachers with fake results.

According to him, the Yakowa-led government responded to reports that 50 per cent of primary school teachers were unqualified by giving such teachers a five-year deadline to acquire the appropriate qualifications.

“The Kaduna State Executive Council, at its August 8, 2012 meeting, after considering the report of the verification committee, gave a five-year window for under-qualified teachers to acquire the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE).

“This five-year grace period has now expired, and that is why this administration weeded out teachers who didn’t have the requisite skills and qualifications to teach,” he said.

El-Rufai recalled that the 2015 ESSPIN report on pupil and teacher competence levels showed that 83 per cent of the teachers scored less than 25 per cent in Maths and literacy exams.

Primary two pupils scored an average of 14 per cent in English and 27 per cent in Maths, while primary four pupils scored an average of 13 per cent in English and 17 per cent in Numeracy.

The governor added: “the government responded to this report by getting the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) to conduct a survey of teacher competence. We took further steps to address these gaps by training and retraining the teachers.”

According to him, 11,315 classroom teachers were trained in Literacy and Numeracy through SUBEB, and another 3,733 were trained in reading skills through the Global Partnership for Education. UBEC trained 5,945 teachers in Pedagogy, Lesson Plans and use of Teachers’ Guides.

On June 3, 2017, the government conducted a competency test for primary school teachers. This test assessed their literacy and numeracy levels through a primary four test.

The government considered giving teachers a 75 per cent threshold for a primary four test an extremely generous decision, he added.

El-Rufai said the government seeks to hire 25,000 teachers to replace the disengaged 22,000, and eligible applicants have already applied.