By Olubusuyi Adenipekun
A DESPERATE attempt by some university graduates to gain employment into the Lagos State teaching service through the backdoor has been foiled by the State Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Sosan who also doubles as the Commissioner for Education.

According to Sosan, it was discovered at the point of issuing employment letters to the job-seeking graduates after screening their original certificates that many of them actually obtained their first degrees earlier than 2004, which is contrary to the stipulated condition for employing them.

Following the inadequate number of teachers in schools across the six education districts in the state, especially in the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry and allied subjects, the state government, in June last year, called for applications from degree holders in Education with the relevant teaching subjects to fill the vacancies in its secondary schools.

Apart from this academic qualification, it also specified that the degree must have been obtained not earlier than 2004 which, according to Sosan, is to ensure that the applicants would be in a position to present their original certificates since statement of result is not accepted.

Although the state government intended to employ 1,557, about 12,000 graduates applied for the teaching job. The state government quickly set up an Executive Council Committee on Recruitment of Teachers under the chairmanship of Mrs Sosan.

The committee promptly went to work and administered a highly competitive examination on the candidates, out of which 1,557 were adjudged to have done well in addition to their possession of the requisite qualifications.

Sosan says: “Tn the selection process that produced the 1,557 successful candidates, due process was followed. I also made it clear that those who graduated more than five years ago can still be considered in the nearest future for appointment if they meet the laid down criteria.

But we were shocked to discover during the final screening exercise that some of them actually got their degrees more than five years ago. We frown seriously at this insincerity on the part of the applicants,  we feel that our children should not be entrusted into the hands of such insincere individuals.

This is the reason why we have withheld the letters of employment for those of them found wanting while we have started issuing out letters of appointment to those of them who satisfy the laid down criteria”.

Employment letters were withheld for 17 candidates in education district 1, 12 in education district 2, 22 in district 3, 41 in district 5 and six of them in education district 6, with the figure of those affected in education district 4 yet to be ascertained.

The latest discovery of discrepancy in the credentials of some of these 1,557 candidates originally penciled down for full employment has now opened the window of opportunity for those who participated in the employment examination but were not among the 1,557 originally shortlisted.

According to the Deputy Governor, the vacancies created by those who could not pass the final screening exercise have necessitated the need to review the screening process so that their positions will be filled by others who participated in the examination and who also have the requisite qualifications.

She added that this is necessary so that there will be enough teachers for those core subjects in our schools in order to maintain the high standard for which our secondary schools is known, adding that the state government will conduct another interview anytime from now in order to fill vacancies in its schools.

According to her, the state government is determined to give serious assistance towards ensuring the effective teaching of core subjects in its secondary schools since these have been discovered to be the areas where the students do not perform well, explaining that this resolve led to the distribution of free textbooks to secondary school students in the five core subjects of English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.