Secondary school teachers in Adamawa
State are at loggerheads with the state Ministry of Education over a
compulsory computer loan scheme which many teachers rejected as
oppressive and an encroachment on their rights.
The state education ministry has refused
to react to allegations that it ignored the fact that some teachers
already own computers, denying them choice to buy computers from
competitors as well as install extra applications relevant to their
profession.
The commissioner claimed he was busy when contacted to get his response on the allegation.
Many teachers became apprehensive after a circular issued by the Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Post Primary Schools Board, Ayuba Njidda, instructed every teacher to collect a laptop computer on loan at N130,000 deductible from their salaries over a period of 18 months, an arrangement they described as fishy and exorbitant.
The chairman of Adamawa State chapter of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), Dauda Maina, objected to the position, saying although he was part of the decision to facilitate the loan for teachers, he never supported the idea of forcing it on them.
In an interview with Daily Trust, the executive secretary explained that the loan was actually a voluntary one as agreed on at a meeting attended by officials of his board, the Ministry of Education,
He said the Commissioner of Education, Gabriel Hamma Adama, directed for the loan to be presented as compulsory so as to get the teachers to own computers for their personal development and improved productivity. He also defended the price, saying similar computers sell at N150,000 in the market.
“Because of the need to make our staff go for the computers, the Commissioner of Education directed
that we should say it is mandatory
for everybody. We are not saying it is necessary to buy these particular
computers but we are saying it is important. These computers have
special features for teaching including lesson plan formats and syllabi
for all subjects,” he added.The commissioner claimed he was busy when contacted to get his response on the allegation.
Many teachers became apprehensive after a circular issued by the Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Post Primary Schools Board, Ayuba Njidda, instructed every teacher to collect a laptop computer on loan at N130,000 deductible from their salaries over a period of 18 months, an arrangement they described as fishy and exorbitant.
The chairman of Adamawa State chapter of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), Dauda Maina, objected to the position, saying although he was part of the decision to facilitate the loan for teachers, he never supported the idea of forcing it on them.
In an interview with Daily Trust, the executive secretary explained that the loan was actually a voluntary one as agreed on at a meeting attended by officials of his board, the Ministry of Education,
He said the Commissioner of Education, Gabriel Hamma Adama, directed for the loan to be presented as compulsory so as to get the teachers to own computers for their personal development and improved productivity. He also defended the price, saying similar computers sell at N150,000 in the market.
“Because of the need to make our staff go for the computers, the Commissioner of Education directed
Lamenting that most Adamawa teachers were not computer literate, Jidda stressed the need for teachers to avail themselves of the opportunities presented by computer and internet.
“We want all our teachers to be computer literate and this is in line with federal government directive that computer knowledge must be taught in all secondary schools and JAMB is proposing computer-based examination for students. We discussed the need and we know teachers cannot afford to buy computers directly from the market, so we got a vendor to supply them on loan,” he explained.
However, the NUT chairman told Daily Trust that the problem has been resolved as the ministry had reconsidered its position after some discussions with the union and that the loan was now voluntary. He revealed that so far about six thousand people have applied for the loan.
Maina explained that the NUT initiated the loan and outsourced for a vendor who supplied the computers for its members, saying “our union came up with the idea and got a vendor to supply the computers. The Post Primary Schools Board and the ministry are only involved as guarantors to ensure deduction from salaries of beneficiaries,” he stated.
principals as well as the NUT leadership but the Ministry of Education later decided to make it appear mandatory.
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