Right or Wrong?: School sacks teacher for engaging in ‘okada work’ after school

BY ADA DIKE

News reaching Sunday Times has it that a school management recently sacked a teacher in their school for riding ‘okada’ (motorcycle) after school.

It was revealed that a parent saw the teacher in the evening carrying a passenger, she later asked the teacher whether he was the one she saw riding okada, the teacher nodded in affirmation. Then the woman threatened to report him to the school authority, saying it’s demeaning for a teacher in the a school her daughter attend to be carrying passengers.

An owner of a popular school platform, Kids and Teens Hub, who revealed the information refused to mention the school name.

He stated that the school in question is one of the experienced private schools in Nigeria where parents pay huge sum of money for school fee.

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In his words: “So, the egoistic parent queried and threatened to mention it during their next Parents Teachers Association (P.TA.) meeting, and also bring down the image of the school for employing anyhow individual to teach learners!

“When the school authority summoned the teacher, he answered, “Yes, I did it because I’m having a lot of bills to pay and my neighbour recommended it.”

“The threat made the management of the school to sack him just to protect their business.”

Another teacher reacted to the story by sharing his own experience. Mr. Solomon Victor said: “In this present Nigerian situation, coupled with the meager salary some schools pay their teachers, who won’t ride motorcycle?

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“This same thing happened to me some years back, and just like this, a parent saw me and pretended as if she didnt see me.

“The following day, she phoned me and said she wanted to see me, on getting to her place, she sat me down, asked me if I was into riding okada, I was shocked because I only did ride it, at evenings around 8:00 PM so that people who could recognize me will not see me, I even use to put on cap just because of shame.

“Long storyshort, she advised me, that I could look for other businesses, aside riding okada, that it wasn’t prestigious. She also suggested I try organizing evening lessons at my place, and promised to support in any little way she could. That was how I stopped, and the story has been from good to better every year.

“See ehn, some people are just wicked and lack human sympathy whether as parents, school owners, or even teachers, and they dont hesitate to exhibit their wickedness whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Why not look for other ways to assist him.

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“I once taught in a school. Where almost all the teachers have side hustles after school hours, many of them are land or even house owners. Guess who pushed them? the owner of the school.

“And many of them have stayed with him for more than 15 years just because of the support he gives them so that they can also rise.”

Reacting to the story, a guidance and counseling expert, Mrs. Comfort Kay has condemned the school’s action, saying it is inhumane for an employee to sack an employee for doing a side job that didn’t disrupt or affect his work in school.

“People have a lot of bills to settle in this harsh economy, so employers should allow their staff to have other legitimate streams of income.”

Mrs. Kay advised parents to stop implicating and intimidating teachers in the schools their children attend, adding that no one knows tomorrow.

QUOTE

I once taught in a school. Where almost all the teachers have side hustles after school hours, many of them are land or even house owners. Guess who pushed them? the owner of the school.