The competency test ordered by Edo government for teachers in public schools recorded low turn-out, as many teachers refused to participate in the exercise which held on Saturday.
Yesterday, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Louis Odion, who briefed journalists, called on teachers to write the test or their salaries will be withheld adding that the state government was unaware of any injunction against conducting the test.
While the state government carried paid adverts on the media calling the unions to write the test, the unions carried a parallel advert stating that there was an injunction against the test.
The Edo State Commissioner for Higher Education, Washington Osifo, however said the state government has not been served the injunction notice and that the media is not the avenue to announce a notice of injunction.
“Government is set to conduct the assessment test. Nobody will force anybody to do what is right. The test is in the interest of the teachers and Edo children.
“We are not aware of any restraining order stopping the test. An attempt to get an order does not in itself translate to an order stopping the conduct of the test,” Osifo said
Counsel to the Academic Staff Union of Secondary School (ASSUS), Edo Chapter, Olayiwola Afolabi who brandished the court injunction said the relevant ministries were served and an attempt to serve the state Ministry of Justice was resisted, threatening that “If they go ahead with the test, we will file contempt charges against the government of Edo”.
The test however recorded a low turnout as only 73 teachers were accredited at about 11am at the University of Benin Centre which was billed for thousands of teachers.
The test was scheduled to hold simultaneously in the three senatorial districts of the state.