Prof. Anthony Anwukah, the Minister of State for Education, ordered newsmen out of venue for the inauguration of a committee on the recruitment of 500,000 teachers in Abuja on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Anwukah had inaugurated the committee without giving the names of its chairman, secretary and members and the time frame to deliver on the mandate.
The panel is tagged: Committee on Actualisation of the Recruitment of 500,000 Graduates and NCE Graduates for Teaching in the Basic Education Sector.
NAN reports that the drama started when the minister asked newsmen to leave the conference room so that the committee can continue in a closed door session.
The newsmen, however, asked for the names of the chairman, secretary and members of the committee.
Anwukah responded: “I have not requested for questions.
“I said the press should leave.
“Please leave.”
The newsmen left the room, protesting outside and threatened to boycott further events in the ministry.
Prof. Godswill Obioma, the Special Adviser to the Minister, and Tony Akuneme, the Special Adviser on Media, stepped out and entreated the newsmen.
The newsmen requested that the minister should come out and apologise to them but later left the ministry dejected.
Anwukah had said the terms of reference of the committee included: “To examine and recommend the methodology to adopt in the recruitment, training and deployment of such teachers.
“To determine the qualifications and skills critical to such teachers to be recruited
“To spell out the nature and duration of remedial and other refresher courses the selected trainee-teachers will need to go through.”
NAN recalls that the Federal Government recently announced that it would recruit 500,000 teachers to address the shortage of teachers in the basic education level across the country.
NAN.
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