Why I sacked 4,000 teachers –Yakowa

Kaduna State governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa yesterday said that he sacked over 4,000 primary and secondary schools teachers in a move to ensure quality and vibrant education sector in the State.
In a speech delivered at the joint national graduation and award ceremony of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, Yakowa said the fake teachers were discovered following a task force established to investigate teachers’ qualifications in the State. Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said that it has become imperative to establish National Commission for Distance Education (NACDE) despite the roles of the National Commission for Colleges of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) in accrediting distance learning programmes in the country.
Minster of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’I who also graced the occasion made the disclosure in her brief remarks. She said: “It is part of our plan to establish such Commission in Nigeria very soon. I wish to impress it on you that the education you received via DLS is not by any means sub-standard or second rate to any other. What is important now is for you to prove your mettle and make the best use of the education you received to enhance your performance in your respective classrooms.”
However, Yakowa stressed that his government was conscious of the overall value and impact of education to citizens hence the government designed a roadmap aimed at improving addressing teacher quality through capacity building, infrastructural development and the development of tertiary institutions owned by the state government.
His words: “We have assessed and verified the quality of all teachers in both primary and secondary schools which shows us that nearly 50 per cent of teachers in our primary schools lack the required qualifications to teach. The verification also revealed that about 4,000 teachers had been employed with fake certificates. The affected teachers have since been sacked. “This, indeed, is very alarming as it portends serious danger to the future of the young generations we hope to take over from us.
The quality of education we require for our children is too dear for us to toy with. We could only entrust our children to the care of high caliber and qualified teachers that can deliver to transform their lives. “As such, no effort is being spared in ensuring that only the most qualified teacher, both academically and professionally, is allowed to teach in our schools, because for us in Kaduna state, education ranks very high in our development programmes. The state has committed and is still committing large chunks of our resources to education.”
He said that the government had made huge investments in massive infrastructural expansion of the Kaduna State University – including the development of a second campus in Kafanchan, improving facilities at the Kaduna State College of Education and adopting the whole-school development model at the basic education level.