Ogun Secondary Teachers, Others Insist On Principal-General Office, Permanent Secretary Equal Status

Major stakeholders in the Ogun State's secondary education sector including teachers, current Principal-General and former ones have insisted on equal status for Principal-General office in the state teaching service commission and that of the Permanent Secretary in the core civil service in a bill being considered by the State House of Assembly 

Chairman of the State branch of Academic Staff Union Of Secondary School (ASUSS), Comrade (Dr.) Felix Agbesanwa, the Principal General in charge of Remo Division, Dr(Mrs) Ayodele Womiloju and former Principal General, Alhaji Abiodun Olubajo made the demand on Wednesday in their separate memoranda presented before the House Committee on Education, Science and Technology during a public hearing on the bill for a law to establish the office of the Principal-General and related matters held at the State House of Assembly complex in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the State capital 

ASUSS in its position paper on the bill, asked the State House of Assembly called for enabling law to back up the establishment of the Office of the Principal-General as Permanent Secretary (School Management) and streamline it along the operational workings of the Teaching Service Commission, saying the further marginalization of teachers in all sphere should end 

The teachers through the union's position paper, urged the lawmakers before them to expunge the Civil Service structure from the operational administration of the school system, "Teaching Services are not performed on civil service pro-rata basis and they have unique operandi", they maintained 

"The government should provide the needed support for the Act of Parliament in Ogun State House of Assembly to review the 1991 Edict establishing the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) due to fundamental changes that have taken place over the time", ASUSS stated 

The Edict according to the union, is obsolete and not in tandem with the current realities at the commission 

"The TESCOM should be allowed to have its legitimate full authority as entrenched in the Edict with enabling laws of the federation"

"As done in neighbouring states, teachers should be allowed to manage their affairs by themselves instead of the core civil servants running teachers' affairs for teachers"

"We urge the House of Assembly to expedite the passage of this bill, recognizing the critical role Principals-General/Permanent Secretaries will play in transforming secondary education in the state "

ASUSS submitted in its position paper that the establishment of the office would mark a significant step towards revitalizing the education system in the state.

" We believe this bill will have a profound impact on education quality, accountability and performances of students. We look forward to collaborating with Ogun State Government to ensure its successful implementation", the union assured 

Similarly the Principal-General for Remo Education Zone, stressed the need for equal representation of teachers, considering their numerical strength in the state's workforce, saying upgrading the status of the office to equal that of a Permanent Secretary will be beneficial to the state and make it to be at par with neighbouring Lagos and Oyo States who have done so, by upgrading their Tutor-General to the status of Permanent Secretary in the respective states 

Dr.(Mrs) Womiloju who presented the position of the three other Principals-General in Egba, Ijebu and Yewa divisions , recalled several academic exploits of teachers in the state's public secondary schools at both national and international levels , maintained that teachers have what it takes to get to the peak of their career, adding that many of them are now Ph.D holders 

She insisted that upgrading the status of the office would most morale of teachers and Principal-General considering their enormous roles in effective running secondary education sector 

A former Principal-General, Alhaji Olubajo also presented the same position on behalf of former holders of the office, stressing the need for the upgrading of the status of the office, so to avoid the repeat of past experiences as an administrator 

The House Committee Chairman on Education Science and Technology, Hon. Yusuf Amosun and the House Minority Leader, Hon. Lukman Adeleye who sponsored the bill, assured that the house would look into the submissions of the stakeholders in the further consideration and passage of the bill