The Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) on Friday explained the delay surrounding the recruitment of 2,500 teachers in the state.
Our correspondent reports that the board in June last year advertised an employment opportunity for teachers shortly after the state executive council approved the recruitment of 2,000 teachers for SUBEB.
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But, over one year after, the recruitment of the teachers had not seen the light of the day, fueling rumours that the employment could have taken place in secret.
However, Chairman of SUBEB in the state, Comrade Joseph Utse, in an interview with our correspondent in Makurdi, dispelled the insinuation that some people had already been given the job, saying that the process is in progress.
He said, “The governor recently in the state executive meeting directed that we should employ 2,500 teachers. We did advertise but the number was too much so we came back to make sure we do the correct selection for those who applied. People who are not education bias also applied so we want to sieve all of these.
“Right now, we have opened our portal so we can invite the applicants for interview which will be done in various centres in the state. We are working under the directive of the governor to give employment to 2,500 teachers. The process is in progress and I have also set up a committee within the board who are seriously working on it. We are briefing the commissioner of education too.
“Soon, the final selection will be done and people will get their appointments. It’s not a fresh application; we are working on those who applied earlier. It’s the selection of those eligible for the employment that we are doing. We said we need 5000 but about 46,000 applied which is why it delayed.
“Some applicants are not educational bias, some have PhD in those areas that do not correspond with the need so we have to do the selection. It’s just the continuation of those that applied to enable us come out with the correct figure and correct people suitable in the basic education and we need 2500.
“After the selection, they will be invited for an exam which will be done using the computer. We don’t want to be biased so we want even JAMB to conduct the final selection so that the qualified people will emerge no matter where they come from as far as they are indigenes of Benue State.”
Utse said the rumours about the jobs already given to preferred applicants were a mere political talk, noting that there was a list sent to the board from the Civil Service Commission sometimes ago which was a nation wide programme and that those people on the list were accepted by the board.
“But this one (vacancy advertised by the board) we are talking about nobody has done that. It’s those people who want to say that the governor is not doing the right thing that are bringing in rumours that are meaningless. We advertised and currently working on the selection.
“The governor is someone who believes in the rule of law so the right thing must be done and that’s what we are following. Those peddling those rumours are doing so for their selfish aims just to damage the image of the right thing which the governor is doing. They are political opponents,” the board chairman added.
