SUBEB Chair Escapes Lynching By Protesting Teachers Over Manipulation

There was tension on Saturday at the Federal University Dutse (FUD), Jigawa State, the venue of the proposed aptitude test for recruitment of 3,000 teachers, as the chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Professor Haruna Musa escaped being lynched by aggrieved teachers popularly know as J-Teach.

The prospective teachers, mostly youths, also blocked the entrance of the Government House, preventing Governor Umar Namadi from attending the national conference on Zakkat and Waq’fiq at the Manpower Development Institute few metres from the Government House Dutse in the state capital.

The teachers, in their thousands, attacked the chairman in protest accusing him of planning to replace them with candidates from politicians and privileged individuals years after they were close to securing permanent, pensionable appointments.

Speaking with newsmen, Secretary of the J-Teach association, Comrade Abbas Muazu Aujara, said, “We are the teachers recruited under the J-Teach programme initiated by the former Governor Muhammad Badaru Abubakar in the last two years.

“We were screened, wrote several examinations and interviews where about 3000 out of over 5000 were recruited on stipend allowances under the J-Teach programme and posted to primary and junior secondary schools and teaching since that time.

”The current Governor, Malam Umar Namadi recognised our efforts and offered us permanent and pensionable appointments.

“The Ministry of Basic Education through the State Basic Education Board also re-screened and re-documented all of us. What remains is to receive our permanent and pensionable offers and be captured into the State Intergrade Payroll for Public Information System Management (IPPISM).

“We all expected that we were to collect our offers of appointment. To our greatest disappointment, we were told that we were to hold another aptitude test and screening despite that just yesterday (Friday) completed a round of screening.

“From the beginning of this programme in the last government to today, we conducted more than five tests and examinations and numbers of screening and verifications.

“We know Governor Umar Namadi approved new rules for teacher recruitment starting from placing candidates to temporary teachers to ensure only qualified and those with passion for the job are observed to permanent classroom teachers

“Unfortunately it appears now some people want to sabotage the Governor’s effort in revitalising the State education with the provision of adequate and qualified teachers for selfish interest. That is why we blocked this test from taking place.”

The entrance of the Government House was blocked by the protesting teachers over the planned examinations.

They blocked the Governor and his entourage from moving to the venue of a State function, leaving all the five first-class emirs and high dignitaries personalities awaiting the Governor’s arrival stranded.

The Chief of Staff Government House, Senator Mustapha Makama Kiyawa, while speaking with the aggrieved J-Teach staff at Dutse Government House, promised to channel all their grievances to the Governor and assured them of justice.