The Katsina State Government has refuted claims that the 2,158 teachers recruited in its latest employment exercise were engaged under the Transforming Education Systems at State Level (TESS) project.
The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Hon. Yusuf Sulaiman Jibia, made the clarification Wednesday evening while responding to allegations that the teachers were recruited under the donor-supported project.
He explained that the newly recruited 2,158 primary and secondary school teachers were employed directly by the state government through a “transparent recruitment” process.
He disclosed that although the government used the TESS project office to distribute appointment letters to the successful applicants, “the recruitment was conducted and financed entirely by the Katsina State Government.”
“The teachers were recruited by the Katsina State Government, not by TESS. We only made use of the TESS premises to distribute appointment letters. They are being processed to become full-fledged civil servants of the Katsina State Government,” Jibia said.
“TESS is a programme that will eventually come to an end. If these teachers were recruited under TESS, who would be responsible for them when the programme ends? They are government employees and not TESS staff.”
Describing the TESS programme as a time-bound educational intervention in Katsina, the commissioner said the recruitment of the 2,158 teachers followed laid-down civil service procedures and should not be linked to TESS.
He further stated that the recruitment exercise was aimed at bridging the manpower gaps in public primary and secondary schools, and was “structured to address the specific needs of schools across the state.”
According to him, vacancies were advertised according to individual schools and subject requirements, “thereby enabling applicants to apply directly to schools where teachers were needed.”
He said the approach was introduced to tackle “teacher absenteeism, frequent transfer requests and the reluctance of teachers to serve in rural communities.”
Jibia also said Special Model Secondary schools undergoing construction in Jikamshi and Dumurku “would be completed and inaugurated in the next three months as part of efforts to expand access to quality education for children.”
He noted that the state government had “awarded contracts for the construction of 30 new senior and 44 junior secondary schools to improve access to education, particularly in underserved communities, in the state.”