*URGENT ALERT FOR THE BOYCOTT OF SUPERVISION, COORDINATION AND GRADING OF SCRIPTS FOR BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EXAMINATION IN WEST AFRICAN EXAMINATION COUNCIL (WAEC)/NATIONAL EXAMINATION COUNCIL (NECO) IN OGUN STATE*
Teachers are models, they are moulders and builders of lives and destinies. Many people have passed through their hands and have risen up to greater heights. They, therefore, need to be cherished and respected being major stakeholders in education industry.
Over the years, the way the examination bodies such as West African Examination Council *(WAEC)* and National Examination Council *(NECO)* treat teachers who have proved to be of great assistance to them by serving as examiners and supervisors in all their scheduled examinations (Internal and External), calls for urgent attention of other stakeholders in education.
In the on going West African Senior School Certificate Examination *(WASSCE)* in Ogun State, the Press Unit of our Union reported the various *inhuman treatments* melted out to various supervisors at different centres across the state.
In one of the reports, a teacher named *Mrs Abosede Funmilayo Obiyomi-Akinleye* from Sango Ota High School (Senior) slumped while on call duty of WAEC as a supervisor at a centre (The Crescent International School) in Ota on Monday 13th May, 2019. She was immediately rushed to a private hospital where she spent two days after which she was referred to the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta on Wednesday 15th May, 2019 where, after defying all medical interventions, eventually died on Saturday May 18th, 2019. Although she did not die at the venue of the examination, her death was obviously a cumulative effect of the stress and trauma of the tedious examination supervision. *Surprisingly, the WAEC officials neither show any sign of sympathy nor concern with the family of the deceased or the school by calling or deeming it fit to visit, but rather, she was immediately replaced by another supervisor right at the custodian point (Ota 3).* It took the fellow supervisors to contribute money which they used to rush her to the nearest hospital. This attitude of the WAEC spoke volume of the reputation of the body and of their staff. *It simply shows that the body (WAEC) has no regard for lives but values their examination more than the teachers assisting them in doing the job as supervisors.* This is not only wicked but inhuman on their part.
There was another case of one of our teacher, *Mr Wasiu Gbolahan* from Egba Owode Grammar School (Senior), who was locked up between Friday May 17th and May 20th, 2019 due to leakage of questions screenshot by one of the candidates in the examination hall and posted online. Rather than conducting a proper investigation on how the students brought handset into the examination hall or interrogating the candidate and the school invigilators, the said teacher was arrested and abandoned at a Police Station. If not for the efforts of the Ogun State Ministry of Education, Teaching Service Commission, Principals in the zone and Union officials who rose up to the challenge, the teacher would not have regained his freedom up till now for an offence he did not commit. Despite the fact that he is a Muslim, who was also fasting, he spent three days in the police custody. Kudos to Obafemi/Owode Zonal Principals, Zonal Education Officer and Zonal Secretary, Teaching Service Commission who made frantic efforts in ensuring the teacher was granted bail. Meanwhile, the erring candidate and the invigilators were left alone as free persons. *We frown at this injustice and dehumanisation.* At the same time, we view it as an embarrassment to the teaching profession.
In another development, a teacher from Ibafo Community High School, (Senior) - *Mrs Abosede Olubunmi Adelaja* was involved in a fatal accident on her way to administer the second paper at a Centre on Monday, 20th May, 2019. The woman was rescued by the Ibafo police officers and other public spirited Nigerians. She was initially moved to a private hospital in Ibafo and later taken to General Hospital Ikeja. In their usual manner, *the WAEC's sympathy was towards their green packs, rather than the health of the supervisor.* She was left in a critical condition at the hospital unattended to by the WAEC. It was after the social media alert on the issue by the Union that the examination body through the State Branch Controller visited the woman in question and gave her a token.
While we appreciate the visit, we observed that the response was not prompt enough and was only done because there was dust raising from some quarters. *It further goes to confirm that the examination body was not interested in the safety of the life of the supervisor but in their question papers alone.*
We make bold to say that teachers are not second class citizens. They are men and women of integrity that must be accorded respect. It must be mentioned that majority of those who are engaged to do these jobs are senior teachers in their respective schools.
*It has now come to the point where serious appeal is sounded to our colleagues to stop risking their lives through unnecessary agitation/lobbying/scheming for an opportunity to be appointed as WAEC/NECO supervisors and examiners during marking exercise.* It is shocking and disgusting to see teachers struggling to gatecrash as examiners at marking centres or lobbying officials to be appointed as supervisors despite the poor pay they receive when compared to the stress involved. *Of what importance is the money paid for the work done that fails to measure up with the rigours and untold hardship suffered in the course of discharging the duties?*
Most of our colleagues often breakdown after the exercise. Some suffer health challenges because of sleepless night. It is the value we place on ourselves and profession that these examination bodies will place on us. No wonder why they now see us as individuals who cannot survive without their stipend and this makes them treat us without any regard. *It is high time the personnel of these examination bodies were left to handle their examinations by themselves.* It is disturbing to see a supervisor being paid less than twenty thousand naira after running up and down for a month in spite of all the hazards or a graduate of Chemistry of over twenty years, who stands as Assistant Examiner being paid ten thousand naira for marking over 300 scripts, when their own personnels are always handsomely rewarded.
*It is worse if you as an examiner is found to have lost a script.* That day, you will be treated as a common criminal. This is an eyesore. It is the greatest level of injustice and inhuman treatment.
In time past, teachers were the ad hoc staff for all electoral processes in the country. When the service was withdrawn from us, heaven did not fall. We, instead, became stronger and better in the society. Why not learn to treat ourselves with respect and honour.
*To all examination bodies, if we do not see reasonable improvement in remunerations and welfare packages for our colleagues, we shall be forced to direct all our teachers to boycott both supervision of exams and marking of scripts in Ogun State and even begin a nationwide campaign, enlightenment and advocacy against such undignified duties.*
At several fora, this union has called for the review of remunerations for supervisors and examiners but up till now, nothing definite has been done.
We also note with dismay that the personnel of these bodies who are just to assist the supervisors and examiners in getting their jobs done without hitches are well treated anytime they go out for this exercise. *They are well paid with mouth-watering sums for their inconveniences.* They are always lodged in good hotels during the periods the exercises last, yet examiners and supervisors are poorly paid and treated with disdain because of the notion that teachers are participating in supervision and marking of scripts not because of what they want to get as remunerations but for the passion they have for teaching as teachers and educationists. What a hell?
The bodies *(WAEC and NECO)* continue to rake in trillions of naira annually by way of examination fees from candidates but they continue *to pay paltry sums to examiners and supervisors *who are ad hoc staff under the pretext that they are not after gratification, knowing full well that they are not entitled to any benefit under their organisation and the job is not an employment opportunity that can be quoted in the curriculum vitae as a working experience.*
This dehumanisation must stop as we cannot fold our hands and allow our teachers to be treated unjustly again. *Our teachers' lives matter to us more than anything else.*
The Union is poised to see if there will be any changes and is resolute to liaise with relevant agencies and stakeholders on this issue. Enough is enough!
Thank you.
Solidarity!
Forward Ever!
Backward Never!
*Comrade Akeem Lasisi.*
*Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), Ogun State Chapter.*
*27/5/2019*
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