Don’t Politicise Teachers Recruitment, Extend Deadline, Group Tells Adeleke

A civil society group in Osun State, Greater Osun Agenda, has warned against the politicisation of the ongoing teachers’ recruitment exercise, just as it called for the extension of the application deadline.

The group, which commended Governor Ademola Adeleke for the recruitment of 5,000 teachers and 250 education officers, said the exercise would not only add value to the education sector but also help to reduce unemployment in the state.

In a press statement signed by its convener, Comrade Jolapamo Bolanle, the group urged Adeleke to extend the application deadline due to reported hitches on the online application in the first week.

According to the group, many applicants could not submit their applications in the first week as a result of the reported technical issue. 

The statement that was made available to OSUN DEFENDER yesterday reads: “Our organisation is committed to pushing the interests of Osun State and her people to the front burner at all times. Based on this principle, it becomes imperative for us to express our concern about the ongoing teachers’ recruitment as it is today.

“Firstly, we commend the Osun State Government under the leadership of Senator Ademola Adeleke for taking the bold and decisive step of massively recruiting five thousand teachers to boost primary and secondary education in the state. 

“On the other, however, we note the delay and difficulties experienced in the first week of the two weeks for the online application process by prospective applicants. Until a few days ago when the issue was rectified, many applicants were unable to submit their online application.

“In light of this, we make bold to say that the two-week application period is not enough for the exercise. Therefore, we appeal to the state government to extend the deadline for the online application by two more weeks to give room for more people to apply.

“More so, it is equally important that we pray that the government does not politicize the recruitment process. The government should ensure that only qualified and capable hands are employed in the interest of the growth of education in the state.

“The state government should give attention to recruiting lecturers into that state tertiary institution across the board, understanding that many of these institutions have more contract and part-time lecturers than the permanent staff members, thereby making these set of part-time lecturers underemployed (many of which have been working as a contract/part-time lecturer for close to 10 years).”