Ondo - After drastically reducing the number of applicants from the 110,181 that applied for the 2,000 vacancies in the Ondo State teaching service in the on-going recruitment exercise, the state Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) yesterday commenced the process of testing the 24,500 applicants that scaled the first hurdle.
According to the Chairman of the commission, Dr. Bakkita Bello, the selected candidates are those who satisfied the criteria in terms of having the necessary academic qualifications and other prerequisite as stated in the application forms, which were made available at the internet portal of the commission.
The chairman who told The Guardian Monday that the short-listing was based purely on merit, said all arrangements for the successful conduct of the examinations have been concluded as the commission has provided 30 centres across the three senatorial zones of the state to hold the exercise.
Bello, who is due to monitor the exercise at the southern senatorial district of the state alongside the Head of Service (HOS), Toyin Akinkuotu, disclosed that the duo of the State Commissioner for Education, Jide Adejuyigbe and his Information counterpart, Kayode Akinmade, would monitor the examination at the central and northern senatorial districts respectively.
He, however, justified the dropping of the earlier arrangement of a Computer-Based Test (CBT) for the more easier system of written procedure saying the commission decided to change the process of test because it was discovered that many of the applicants are not computer-literate.
He said, "although computer literacy is essential for today's teacher, we are aware that a sizable percentage of the applicants, particularly those from rural areas where access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is limited or non-existent, would be greatly disadvantaged if we had insisted on following the earlier arrangement.
"It is the duty of the commission to encourage them after absorption and that is if they are found to be suitable, to encourage them to acquire computer knowledge as we are already doing with the serving personnel. But first we want them to cross the first hurdle."
He expressed optimism that with the arrangement put in place, "we are going to get the best out of the shortlisted candidates. We are putting this much efforts because we want value for the billions of naira that the state government is investing in the education of our children."
While commending the TESCOM for the transparency in the conduct of the recruitment exercise so far, the State Chairman of the Parents/Teachers Association (PTA), Chief Abimbola Omoloja, who visited the commission yesterday, said he was sure that at the end of the process "only teachers that can stand the test of merits will be appointed by the state government."
Source: Guardian