Enugu: 6,700 candidates chase 380 teaching jobs

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Non-indigenous populations have fallen away

In what will be seen as a telling testimony to the stark reality of the unemployment problem in the country, no fewer than 6,700 people are vying for 380 teaching positions in Enugu State.

According to Nigerian news agency NAN, the vacancies have arisen due to retirements in the system.

Hilary Mgbodile, Chairman of the Governing Body of Enugu State Post Primary School, announced that the 6,700 persons were selected from an initial pool of 12,000 candidates.

The shortlisted candidates had to undergo a qualifying examination at five centres.

According to Mgbodile, the examination centres are Union Boys Secondary School, Queen School Enugu, Holy Rosary College, College Of Immaculate Conception and Trans Ekulu Girls Secondary School Enugu.

According to him, the candidates will be tested in the subjects of English, information and communication technology, mathematics, physics and chemistry.

Mgbodile gave an overview of the areas of interest of the prospective teachers and indicated that 2,000 candidates had applied to teach English.

While one thousand seven hundred people had registered for ICT, the board only needs eighty.

However, he said that if at the end of the examination the candidates taking the test at that time do not meet the required standards, another group of candidates will be invited.

“We choose the best from the group, that is the only consideration and parameter in the selection of the teachers.

“We will not lower the standard because we cannot get what we want. The recruitment is done by the PPSMB.

“But to reduce the pressure and guarantee meritocracy and absolute objectivity, we decided to call on the help of an independent recruitment agency,” said the chairman of the board of directors.

Mgbodile also stated that the 6,700 candidates were selected after a preliminary screening exercise, which resulted in the elimination of candidates who were above the stipulated age of 45 years and non-indigenes of Enugu from the initial 12,000 applications.

Candidates who were awaiting results and those who could not produce their educational certificates were also rejected, he said.”

The 380 vacancies were discovered when the board, in line with the governor’s directive, sent teachers from urban areas to rural areas.

“As we were doing that, we discovered that we had a shortage of teachers for a number of key subjects, such as science and other core subjects.

“So we made a recommendation to Governor Peter Mbah on the need to hire teachers to fill the shortages.”