The alleged disagreement between Edo State government and aggrieved teachers at the state-owned College of Education — Igueben has prevented over 4,000 students from either graduating or promoted to the next academic ladder.

The unpleasant development that has shreds the academic activities have generated a lot of outburst from parents, stakeholders and students whose fates have been hanging.

In a bid to redirect the cause of action, the State government, announced a stopped of salaries of the teachers over an allegation that they withheld marked scripts of the students that sat for Examinations in the College since 2017.

The State Commissioner for Education, Joan Oviawe said this while reacting to concerns raised by the aggrieved teachers of the College on a Radio program in Benin City.

She alleged that there is no genuine reason by some of the aggrieved teachers to had rained abuses on her over the recent steps that had been taken by the Government.

The Commissioner said, “All the Certificates of these students since 2017, are still with them (teachers), even when the school – College of Education, and the new College has taken off.

“The Edo State government has given us a clear mandate. Our students, our learners are our priority. Students cannot write Examinations, you do not want to release their results. Students can’t graduate. And you will not give them their Certificates.

“How are they supposed to move on with their lives?”, And you expect me to to come and create time to continue to engage these kind of people?, Oviawe queried.

When asked to suggest the way forward, the Commissioner explained that “there are already established rules. We wrote all of them and they refused to reapply for the new College, we deployed them to the State Ministry of Education.

“We did not just stopped their salaries. We stopped their salaries because they resolved to drag with their employer by refusing to release the results of students who wrote Examinations.

“I have equally given a directive that they should be paid their salaries except for those ones who are in charge of Certificates.

“Students who attended College of Education, Igueben that want their Certificates should return and they will get their Certificates”, she stated.

According to the Commissioner, “We cannot continue to do what we use to do in the past. It is not acceptable and we will not take it”.

The demoralised students had threatened a showdown over the imbroglio, which began after the State government, merged the defunct College of Education, Ekiadolor into College of Education, Igueben and created another Campus in Abudu, administrative headquarters of Orhionmwon Local Government Area of the State.

Unsurprisingly, the teachers were reportedly transferred from the former College to the Campuses.

But some of the teachers allegedly rejected the transfer while a few others gave the government conditions to accept their redeployment, leaving the students to wander away.

After months of brinkmanship between the actors, the government invited the teachers for talks and directed them to resume at their new duty posts, without letters or circulars as required in the Civil Service rules.

But the aggrieved teachers were said to have down tool after table of negotiation, collapsed, plumbing new depths of offence.

Again, Oviawe made no apology over the government stance, describing the teachers action as barbaric, adding that “these are people who are not interested in the wellbeing of students”.

 56 total views