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Teachers’ Professional Exams

Published

6 years ago

October 18, 2019

The idea of subjecting teachers in the service of the Federal Government to write a professional examination is generating some controversies. It may be considered as a damage-control strategy, because, if the right thing had been done, then, there would be no need to invite a fire brigade. Establishment of a Teachers Registration Council was meant to professionalise the job of teaching, which is an international practice. In some countries, a teacher, including proselytists, must have a licence before undertaking such activities.
The necessity for regulation of various professional or career practices is quite important. In the case of the education sector, the need is even greater because of the wide implication involved in mind-control activities.
Mind-Control activities include teaching, proselytism, writing to inform, educate and influence the perception of the masses, etc. Hypnosis must be excluded, even though it is a wide-spread malpractice, perhaps, not quite recognised by the relevant authorities.
A situation where those who teach, including some professors, can afford to speak such grammar as “those of us who teaches…” indicates the existence of fundamental inconsistencies somewhere. The inconsistencies arise from the absence of justice, selectiveness in terms of merits lack of vigour and discipline in recruitment, appointment and promotion of staff in public establishments. Damages crated at such grassroots levels result in the use of fire-brigade strategies when the effects begin to fester.
Without going into the damages which application of “Quota System” in appointments and promotions in Nigeria, public services had caused, we see the unpleasant results everywhere now. Neither would conducting of examinations for teachers and other civil servants solve the problems. A situation where people can be appointed and promoted without regard to merit and competence, and then placed in strategic and sensitive positions, what comes about cannot be anything to wonder about.
Anybody who knows the true situations in Nigerian public services, especially after the Civil War (1970), would be surprised at the resilience and ability of the nation to absorb shocks and jolts. The damage-control measure of administering examinations to teachers should not stop with teachers alone, but must be holistic and comprehensive, if it must yield positive results. If the exercise is done with sincerity and justice, what would emerge is that incompetent persons have been shielded for too long in the public services. No sector is free from the virus.
Having been an external examiner, one is aware that the shielding process of incompetent persons by god-fathers is widespread even in universities. Are we not aware that some powerful persons make phone calls to shield, protect or give undue advantages to candidates whom they sponsor? Sponsored social mobility is known to undermine merit and justice.
A healthy appointments and promotions process should be able to throw up the best and most competent candidates, rather than the use of sponsorship to install incompetent persons in public establishments. As it is in the public services so also it is in elective and political processes. It is a situation where people who place emphasis and value on merit and justice have lost confidence in what goes on under the pretext of “screening process”.
Whatever errors and injustices there may have been in the past, we can still have a turn-around for the better. The first lesson in that process is the application of the doctrine of positive discrimination, which is a process of bias-free identification and classification of people, ability-wise. What is known as occupational misfit arises from a mis-match between personal ability and competence vis-à-vis position occupied in an economy. The value of guidance/counselling in an economy lies in bias-free process of identification of personal abilities. Wheat must be separated from chaff!
A second lesson worthy of application in getting the best out of human abilities is current training programme which can simply be called knowledge update. No professional is so competent that regular knowledge up-date would not be necessary. Being an organist as an adolescent, and several years away from the music hobby, one finds it difficult now to know a quaver from a minim; neither can the fingers do what they knew best in the past.
The joy of knowledge or professional competence lies in its regular application and up-date. One there is laxity or relenting of efforts and continuity, these must always be a decline in competence and performance. No individual, organisation or nation has progressed by standing still or placing incompetent hands in strategic and sensitive positions. Similarly, wherever emphasis is placed on certificate rather than practical and visible competence, decline would follow. Nigerians have been known to fake certificates which they cannot make.
Of more importance in the case of declining productivity in Nigeria, is the complacent attitude of the elite class. Watch and observe what members of the elite class say and do in their leisure hours and what excites them most. The emptiness and oppressively narrow sphere of interest and superficiality of their value orientation would be found to be quite pathetic. A society where wealth replaces eternal values and where immediate personal gains replace joyful services and productive labour decline comes soon.
Similarly, a situation where pity wears the garb of meretricious self-righteousness, education would wear a similar garb of window-dressing. Nigerians would do better investing in a process of conscientization rather than setting examination for teachers. Would there not be any malpractice in such examination? Would the examiners not sell scores and grades for something else? We should know where the shoes are pinching.

Bright Amirize

Featured

INEC To Unveil New Party Registration Portal As Applications Hit 129

Published

3 days ago

July 11, 2025

The Tide

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it has now received a total of 129 applications from associations seeking registration as political parties.

The update was provided during the commission’s regular weekly meeting held in Abuja, yesterday.

According to a statement signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, seven new applications were submitted within the past week, adding to the previous number.

“At its regular weekly meeting held today, Thursday 10th July 2025, the commission received a further update on additional requests from associations seeking registration as political parties.

“Since last week, seven more applications have been received, bringing the total number so far to 129. All the requests are being processed,” the commission stated.

The commission revealed the introduction of a new digital platform for political party registration. The platform is part of the Party Financial Reporting and Auditing System and aims to streamline the registration process.

Olumekun disclosed that final testing of the portal would be completed within the next week.

“INEC also plans to release comprehensive guidelines to help associations file their applications using the new system.

“Unlike the manual method used in previous registration, the Commission is introducing a political party registration portal, which is a module in our Party Financial Reporting and Auditing System.

“This will make the process faster and seamless. In the next week, the commission will conclude the final testing of the portal before deployment.

“Thereafter, the next step for associations that meet the requirements to proceed to the application stage will be announced. The commission will also issue guidelines to facilitate the filing of applications using the PFRAS,” the statement added.

In the meantime, the list of new associations that have submitted applications has been made available to the public on INEC’s website and other official platforms.

Featured

Tinubu Signs Four Tax Reform Bills Into Law …Says Nigeria Open For Business

Published

2 weeks ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

President Bola Tinubu yesterday signed into law four tax reform bills aimed at transforming Nigeria’s fiscal and revenue framework.

The four bills include: the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.

They were passed by the National Assembly after months of consultations with various interest groups and stakeholders.

The ceremony took place at the Presidential Villa, yesterday.

The ceremony was witnessed by the leadership of the National Assembly and some legislators, governors, ministers, and aides of the President.

The presidency had earlier stated that the laws would transform tax administration in the country, increase revenue generation, improve the business environment, and give a boost to domestic and foreign investments.

“When the new tax laws become operational, they are expected to significantly transform tax administration in the country, leading to increased revenue generation, improved business environment, and a boost in domestic and foreign investments,” Special Adviser to the President on Media, Bayo Onanuga said on Wednesday.

Before the signing of the four bills, President Tinubu had earlier yesterday, said the tax reform bills will reset Nigeria’s economic trajectory and simplify its complex fiscal landscape.

Announcing the development via his official X handle, yesterday, the President declared, “In a few hours, I will sign four landmark tax reform bills into law, ushering in a bold new era of economic governance in our country.”

Tinubu made a call to investors and citizens alike, saying, “Let the world know that Nigeria is open for business, and this time, everyone has a fair shot.”

He described the bills as not just technical adjustments but a direct intervention to ease burdens on struggling Nigerians.

“These reforms go beyond streamlining tax codes. They deliver the first major, pro-people tax cuts in a generation, targeted relief for low-income earners, small businesses, and families working hard to make ends meet,” Tinubu wrote.

According to the President, “They will unify our fragmented tax system, eliminate wasteful duplications, cut red tape, restore investor confidence, and entrench transparency and coordination at every level.”

He added that the long-standing burden of Nigeria’s tax structure had unfairly weighed down the vulnerable while enabling inefficiency.

The tax reforms, first introduced in October 2024, were part of Tinubu’s post-subsidy-removal recovery plan, aimed at expanding revenue without stifling productivity.

However, the bills faced turbulence at the National Assembly and amongst some state governors who rejected its passing in 2024.

At the NASS, the bills sparked heated debate, particularly around the revenue-sharing structure, which governors from the North opposed.

They warned that a shift toward derivation-based allocations, especially with VAT, could tilt fiscal balance in favour of southern states with stronger consumption bases.

After prolonged dialogue, the VAT rate remained at 7.5 per cent, and a new exemption was introduced to shield minimum wage earners from personal income tax.

By May 2025, the National Assembly passed the harmonised versions with broad support, driven in part by pressure from economic stakeholders and international observers who welcomed the clarity and efficiency the reforms promised.

In his tweet, Tinubu stressed that this is just the beginning of Nigeria’s tax evolution.

“We are laying the foundation for a tax regime that is fair, transparent, and fit for a modern, ambitious Nigeria.

“A tax regime that rewards enterprise, protects the vulnerable, and mobilises revenue without punishing productivity,” he stated.

He further acknowledged the contributions of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Committee, the National Assembly, and Nigeria’s subnational governments.

The President added, “We are not just signing tax bills but rewriting the social contract.

“We are not there yet, but we are firmly on the road.”

Featured

Senate Issues 10-Day Ultimatum As NNPCL Dodges ?210trn Audit Hearing

Published

2 weeks ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

The Senate has issued a 10-day ultimatum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over its failure to appear before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts probing alleged financial discrepancies amounting to over ?210 trillion in its audited reports from 2017 to 2023.

Despite being summoned, no officials or external auditors from NNPCL showed up yesterday.

However, representatives from the representatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and Department of State Services were present.

Angered by the NNPCL’s absence, the committee, yesterday, issued a 10-day ultimatum, demanding the company’s top executives to appear before the panel by July 10 or face constitutional sanctions.

A letter from NNPCL’s Chief Financial Officer, Dapo Segun, dated June 25, was read at the session.

It cited an ongoing management retreat and requested a two-month extension to prepare necessary documents and responses.

The letter partly read, “Having carefully reviewed your request, we hereby request your kind consideration to reschedule the engagement for a period of two months from now to enable us to collate the requested information and documentation.

“Furthermore, members of the Board and the senior management team of NNPC Limited are currently out of the office for a retreat, which makes it difficult to attend the rescheduled session on Thursday, 26th June, 2025.

“While appreciating the opportunity provided and the importance of this engagement, we reassure you of our commitment to the success of this exercise. Please accept the assurances of our highest regards.”

But lawmakers rejected the request.

The Committee Chairman, Senator Aliyu Wadada, said NNPCL was not expected to submit documents, but rather provide verbal responses to 11 key questions previously sent.

“For an institution like NNPCL to ask for two months to respond to questions from its own audited records is unacceptable,” Wadada stated.

“If they fail to show up by July 10, we will invoke our constitutional powers. The Nigerian people deserve answers,” he warned.

Other lawmakers echoed similar frustrations.

Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) insisted that NNPCL’s Group CEO, Bayo Ojulari, must personally lead the delegation at the next hearing.

The Tide reports that Ojulari took over from Mele Kyari on April 2, 2025.

Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi (Ebonyi North) said the two-month request suggested the company had no answers, but the committee would still grant a fair hearing by reconvening on July 10.

Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) warned the NNPCL against undermining the Senate, saying, “If they fail to appear again, Nigerians will know the Senate is not a toothless bulldog.”

Last week, the Senate panel grilled Segun and other top executives over what they described as “mind-boggling” irregularities in NNPCL’s financial statements.

The Senate flagged ?103 trillion in accrued expenses, including ?600 billion in retention fees, legal, and auditing costs—without supporting documentation.

Also questioned was another ?103 trillion listed under receivables. Just before the hearing, NNPCL submitted a revised report contradicting the previously published figures, raising more concerns.

The committee has demanded detailed answers to 11 specific queries and warned that failure to comply could trigger legislative consequences.