The Kwara Government has revealed that 50 First Class graduates were among the succesfully Shortlisted applicants employed for the the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) jobs in the state.
This was made known to Edustuff on Thursday in a statement made the SUBEB Chairman, Prof. Shehu Adaramaja at a stakeholders’ meeting in Ilorin.
According to him the exercise was merit-based and totally devoid of partisan sentiments and adhered to the criteria stated in the advertorial.
He said it was ensured that the process was anchored on the needs assessment earlier conducted by the two agencies across the 16 local government areas.
According to him, the government also accommodated the diversity of the state, including people living with disabilities.
The import of this presentation is for the stakeholders to know what went down throughout the exercise and what teaching slots will be going to what local government and for what reasons.
”We gave priority to applicants of Kwara origin but we also considered non-Kwarans with exceptional performances as well as people living with disabilities,” he said.
The SUBEB chairman said at the end of the selection process for SUBEB, there are 94 NCE distinctions, 989 credit, 64 upper credit, 1,502 merit and 12 lower credit among the successful applicants.
We didn’t consider those with pass in NCE at all for SUBEB jobs. For TESCOM jobs, out of several applicants for the jobs, we got 50 first class graduates in different disciplines. Five applicants with distinctions, 849 second class upper division, 23 upper credits, 987 second class lower division, and 21 lower credit we also did not consider those with pass,” Adaramaja said.
He however noted that applicants are to check their portals from April 27 to know their status.
”The successful ones should print their employment letters online ahead of full documentation with the SUBEB and Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) headquarters.
Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr Yakubu Salihu, said education sector was not a sector to play with, while thanking the Gov. AbdulTahman AbdulRazaq for his commitment to due process and merit.
“Education sector is not a sector you play with and if you want to change the narratives, then you must do it like this.”That is why you could not see any political influence in the exercise because the government recognised that we must not play with the future of our children,” he said.
The NUT Chairman in the state, Mr Olu Adewara, said the level of transparency adopted by the committee represents the sincere focus of the present administration to lay a good foundation for the future of the state.
“The hour of confession and appreciation has come, because at a time, we were crying and saying all sorts of things in defence of our people who were disengaged, asking questions why our members (sunset teachers) had to be laid off unceremoniously.”
”We said so many things that we are not going to repeat here today because of what we have seen as this is unprecedented,” he said.
On his part, the state APC Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Samari, described the process as unique and a departure from the norms of favouritism that hitherto marred the education system in the state.
“What we have seen here shows Kwara is a new place and with this level of thoroughness and transparency, there is nothing to be said anymore,” Samari said.
Speaking on behalf of the chairmen of Transition Implementation Committee, the Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Mr Jide Asonibare, observed that the exercise went down well in history and signals the impressive pace the state would attain its heights.
The Chairperson of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations in Kwara, Dr Salah Abdulbaqi, commended the state government for the transparent and well-structured recruitment which she said was a departure from the past.
“I want to emphasise the need for monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the new teachers do not derail,” she however advised.
Yakub Ali-Agan
Press Secretary,
Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development
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