Ekiti State chapter of the Nigerian Union of Teachers has said it will embark on an indefinite strike if the state government refuses to rescind its decision to conduct an examination for teachers in the state.
The Chairman of the NUT in the state, Mr. Oluwole Awolusi, in a communique on Sunday said the union would resist the move.
The communiqué which was issued at the end of the State Wing Executive Council meeting, read in part, "The SWEC-in-session rejects in its entirety the introduction or imposition of any competency examination on teachers.
"Any attempt to forcibly impose the competency assessment or examination on teachers by the Ministry of Education would be strongly resisted and shall result into an immediate industrial action."
Commissioner for Education, Dr. Eniola Ajayi, had said on Friday at a press conference that there would be constant assessment of teachers through examinations, saying the examinations, would be conducted at local government levels.
The examination, according to her, will be based on what the teachers have done at regular intervals.
But the union described the planned examination as an attempt not only to humiliate but also to dehumanise the teachers.
The union directed all principals, headmasters and teachers in the state not to submit themselves to any "anti-professional and inhuman competency examination," contending that "teachers have been over the years subjected to the promotion examination without any complaint."
The NUT said, "If the government intends to assess the training needs of teachers, a questionnaire is a veritable tool that could be administered to determine such training needs and is even embedded in the Annual Performances Evaluation Reports forms usually completed by the prospective teachers in the service."
The Punch