President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed the planned sack of 21, 780 teachers in Kaduna State by Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

Background:

• Out of 33,000 teachers, 21780 had failed a primary four competency test organised by the state government.
• The state government had announced its plan to sack the teachers after they failed the test.
• The teachers later protested the planned sack, alongside the Nigerian Labour Congress.

What is happening:

While speaking at a special retreat of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Buhari said the education sector was in crisis.

“Being an orphan, I still feel that boarding school moulded me. I spent nine year in boarding school, three in primary school and six in secondary school.

“In those days, teachers treat students like their own children. If you did well, they will tell you, you didn’t, they wouldn’t spare the rod.

“When I finished my secondary school, I didn’t work for a day, I refused to work for a day. I left home, I refused to work in the local government, and then I joined the army.

“And then I listened to one of the Nigerians I respect, he said after his training here in Nigeria and the United States, he went to his alma mater, his primary school to see what he could contribute. I won’t mention his name but when he went, he couldn’t differentiate between the students, the children and the teachers.

“And what el-Rufai is trying to do now is exactly what that man told me about 10 years ago. It is a very serious situation when teachers cannot pass the examination that they are supposed to teach the children. It is a very tragic situation we are in, and this our gathering is one of the most important ones in this administration.”

Azeez