Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo on Thursday denied the sacked of qualified teachers in the state.
Recall that hundreds of teachers employed by the past administration of Chief Willie Obiano had protested over their sack by the government of Prof. Soludo.
Soludo also asked the teachers to write tests to recruit an estimated 5,000 new teachers, an exercise that to date is a subject of controversy.
But Soludo in a statement signed by his Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Aburimen in Awka the state capital said, “The protesters who barricaded the entrance of the state House of Assembly in Awka displayed placards with various inscriptions, claiming to have been engaged by the state government before the termination of their jobs.”
He said, “For the avoidance of doubt, no qualified teacher in the state’s school system has been relieved of his/her appointment.”
Aburime stated that; “the government is rather repositioning the education sector according to standard practice and in line with the objectives of the Soludo administration.”
According to the media aide to the governor, “The attention of Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, has been drawn to publications on protest by Teachers engaged by the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) purportedly converted to permanent staff in Anambra state schools that were sacked by his administration.”
“The affected PTA teachers who were “converted” to the school system in the last days of the last administration in irregular, hazy circumstances, were only asked to regularize their employment with the government by taking part in the online teachers’ recruitment test initiated by the state.
“Teachers all over the world are recruited through a serious and systematic pedagogical based process. The conversion method is rather new to the teaching field and is unacceptable in the State.
“The idea is to ensure that only those with requisite qualifications, proven capacity, and commensurate experiences are recruited into the system. It is not to witch-hunt anybody or take away anybody’s job.”
Aburime urged members of the public to ignore any mischievous or unfounded publication on this matter.
The statement added that; “At all times, Prof Soludo means well for the good people of Anambra State and will stop at nothing in giving them the best, education inclusive.