I won’t force Ekiti teachers to write tests – Bamidele

The Labour Party candidate in the Ekiti State gubernatorial election slated for next month, Hon. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, has pledged to stop a policy of compulsory assessment test for teachers in the Ekiti State Civil Service.
Bamidele made the promise during a meeting on Wednesday in Ado Ekiti, held with the teachers under the umbrella of Nigerian Union of Teachers.
Bamidele told the teachers that rather than subjecting them to a compulsory aptitude test, he would build their professional capacity through training and re-training.
If elected as a governor, he also pledged to expose them to current global trends and developments in teaching profession.
According to him: “As a governor, I won’t subject you to a compulsory test.
“It is not that you can’t write exams and pass, but it must not be at the insistence of the state governor.
“My role as a governor will not be to forcefully examine you.
“My role will be to encourage you and expose you to contemporary global developments in your profession by training and re-training you.
“As teachers, we shall give you confidence and professional esteem.
“We shall appreciate you as builders of the society because no nation exits without teachers.
“This confidence has been eroded over the years.
“We shall revisit the non-payment of the 27.5 per cent increment of pecuniary allowances for teachers being owed by the current administration.”
Recall that Ekiti State teachers are currently at loggerheads with the Governor Kayode Fayemi-led government over a compulsory test regime already introduced by a couple of All Progressives Congress states, including Edo and Ekiti States, tagged: Teachers Development Assessment.
Bamidele also promised to prioritise teachers’ welfare and make education the first agenda of his government.
On how to address educational decay in the state, Bamidele said he would carry out reforms in the sector, through context and character developments .
He also added that budgetary provision for education sector under his government would surpass the 26 per cent UNESCO benchmark set for state governments.
According to him: “I will go beyond the minimum standard for education budget for state governments.
“I will evolve more on context and character in the sector.
“To achieve this, the teachers can never be left out in terms of their welfare and job satisfaction.”
In his remark, the state NUT Chairman, Comrade Kayode Akosile, who appreciated Bamidele’s gestures to Ekiti State teachers in the past, also described his visit to the “Teachers’ House” on Iyin Road as homecoming.
Akosile listed such gestures to include a brand new operation van (Toyota Hiace Bus), a donation which Akosile said had assisted the union in its activities, adding: “Sir, you have written your name in the hearts of Ekiti teachers.
“We cannot find enough words to appreciate you.”