Competency test: Court dismisses NUT’s suit against El-Rufai

The national industrial court sitting in Kaduna has struck out a
suit against the state government, filed by the Nigeria Union of
Teachers (NUT).

The Kaduna government had sacked 21,780 teachers in the state
after they failed a competency test in 2017.

The teachers’ union went on strike, and later filed a case in
court challenging the action, but Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna governor,
said there was no going back on the action.

“We have already taken second, third and fourth looks at this
situation. We have studied what previous governments have tried to
do and there is no going back,” he said in 2018.

In a statement on Saturday, Aisha Dikko, Kaduna commissioner of
justice, said S.O. Adeniyi, the judge, gave a ruling on the matter
in the state’s favour on February 2.

“In the bid to restore the competency of the teaching profession
and improve the standard of education in schools across the state,
a competency test was conducted for public primary school teachers
in the state, on 3rd June, 2017,” Dikko said.

“The claimants, however, challenged the powers of the defendants
to terminate and or dismiss from service, any teacher in the public
primary school of Kaduna state, without the support of the simple
majority of the Kaduna state house of assembly.

“The claimants also stated that prior to the conduct of the
competency test, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria
(TRCN) had written a letter to the defendants to state its
exclusive role as the regulating agency of the teaching profession
in Nigeria, and despite the letter, the defendant still conducted
the competency test and set the pass mark at 75 percent, contrary
to the agreement that the pass mark for the competency test should
be 60 percent.

“Justice Adeniyi ruled that the claimants’ claims are
unsupported by evidence and, as a result, lacked merit.

“The case was accordingly dismissed and no award as to cost was
made.”

The national industrial court sitting in Kaduna has struck out a
suit against the state government, filed by the Nigeria Union of
Teachers (NUT).

The Kaduna government had sacked 21,780 teachers in the state
after they failed a competency test in 2017.

The teachers’ union went on strike, and later filed a case in
court challenging the action, but Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna governor,
said there was no going back on the action.

“We have already taken second, third and fourth looks at this
situation. We have studied what previous governments have tried to
do and there is no going back,” he said in 2018.

In a statement on Saturday, Aisha Dikko, Kaduna commissioner of
justice, said S.O. Adeniyi, the judge, gave a ruling on the matter
in the state’s favour on February 2.

“In the bid to restore the competency of the teaching profession
and improve the standard of education in schools across the state,
a competency test was conducted for public primary school teachers
in the state, on 3rd June, 2017,” Dikko said.

“The claimants, however, challenged the powers of the defendants
to terminate and or dismiss from service, any teacher in the public
primary school of Kaduna state, without the support of the simple
majority of the Kaduna state house of assembly.

“The claimants also stated that prior to the conduct of the
competency test, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria
(TRCN) had written a letter to the defendants to state its
exclusive role as the regulating agency of the teaching profession
in Nigeria, and despite the letter, the defendant still conducted
the competency test and set the pass mark at 75 percent, contrary
to the agreement that the pass mark for the competency test should
be 60 percent.

“Justice Adeniyi ruled that the claimants’ claims are
unsupported by evidence and, as a result, lacked merit.

“The case was accordingly dismissed and no award as to cost was
made.”