Some candidates who participated in the teachers’ recruitment exercise in Anambra State have protested their exclusion from the list of those finally selected.
Two of the candidates who spoke to our correspondent in Awka, on Monday, on behalf of the aggrieved candidates, accused the state ministry of education and the Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board of failing to follow due process in the recruitment process and final selection.
The state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, had on Friday, presented appointment letters to 5,000 teachers recently recruited in the state. The presentation took place at the International Conference Centre, Awka.
Soludo said the exercise was a fulfilment of his campaign promises.
But while speaking to our correspondent on the matter, one of the candidates, who identified herself as Chioma Evelyn, from Njikoka Local Government Area of the state, said having scored 71.5 per cent as total aggregate, she was not selected while those who scored far below were chosen, wondering the criteria that were adopted in the final selection.
The 31-year-old Evelyn lamented that her name which was initially on the original list was omitted from the final list without any tangible explanation, adding that some candidates who are close to some people in the corridors of power were chosen based on favouritism.
She said, “I did the documentation under ASUBEB and my name was the second on the original list with them, but when the list was finally submitted, they omitted my name. My aggregate score is 71.5 per cent, but to my surprise, people who scored 50 per cent were selected.
“Majority of us who scored above 70 per cent have this same issue. Some of us scored 90 per cent, without being chosen, while people who scored 50 per cent were taken. Nobody is telling us why it is so and why our names were removed at the last minute.
“They never told us they will use any special criteria in the selection process, some of us were at the ICC during the inauguration of the teachers, and we approached the commissioner for education, but she only told us that the matter will be looked into.
“I do not deserve to be omitted as people who scored far below were selected. I was documented, and my name appeared on the original list from the ministry of education, but what happened at the last minute, is something no one has explained.”
Another candidate, who gave her name as Ijeoma Okeke, from Idemili North Local Government Area, accused the ASUBEB and the ministry of education of selecting people at random without following the cut-off criteria.
Okeke said, “I scored 72 per cent in the interview and my overall aggregate score is 70.5 per cent, but I was not selected, I applied for Biology. My surprise is that those who scored far below made up the list.
“My name was initially on the list, I did my documentation on November 15, but when they brought out the final list, I did not find my name there. I went to the office of ASUBEB, and the chairman told me that it was an omission, but a staff in that office, told me that those who did not have B.Ed or NCE were removed.
“Initially, they did not tell us it must be B.Ed or NCE. They told us to apply and that on-the-job training will be given to successful applicants, but now, they have turned everything upside down. Our names were intentionally removed because they were selecting people at random after the interview without following the cut-off criteria.
“I have gone to ASUBEB and I was told to report to my local government in Idemili North.”
When contacted, the state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, insisted that due process was followed in the recruitment process, regretting that the protesters did not appreciate the governor’s magnanimity in recruiting 5,000 teachers at a stretch in this difficult time.
“We have more than 40,000 persons, who applied for this job. After the recruitment exercises, we have as many as 8,000 candidates qualified and suitable in different subject areas. Meanwhile, we have limited spaces of 5,000 slots to fill.
“What we did was that In the recruitment process, we allotted 40 per cent to merit, 20 per cent to LGAs of origin, and 10 per cent to educationally disadvantaged areas like Anambra East, Anambra West, Ayamelum, Ogbaru and others. We also allotted 20 per cent to core subject areas, and 10 per cent to technical subjects.
“71 per cent or 72 per cent aggregates are good scores, but if the person is not favoured by any of the criteria above, he cannot get the job.
“For instance, if 200 slots are allocations for a local government based on merit, and if 210 persons got 80 per cent and above in a particular LGA, certainly, a candidate scoring 72 per cent cannot get the job. We cannot allow what belongs to another LGA to you from a different LGA because you score higher grades.
“We cannot recruit somebody whose subject area is not relevant to our schools’ curriculum because he has a high aggregate in the exam.
“Again, somebody from educationally disadvantaged areas like Ayamelum could be recruited with 50 per cent aggregate; but somebody from Awka South who has 72 per cent aggregates may not secure the job; based on certain considerations. We must understand these dynamics,” Chuma-Udeh added.
First published in The Punch