Edo Govt Recruits 5,500 Teachers to Boost Education, Debunks Rumour of Mass Teachers’ Sack

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-City

To boost its achievements in the education sector through the EdoBest programme, the Edo State Government on Friday announced that it had recruited 5,500 teachers to boost teaching and learning in the basic education sector.

This was just as the government debunked the rumours making the rounds in the state that many teachers had been laid off, explaining that the true position was that over 75 percent of the teachers in its novel programme, EdoSTAR, whose contract would expire in April next year, were made to participate in the recruitment exercise and absorbed as permanent teachers in the state.

Making the disclosure at an event held at the John Odigie-Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA), to give an overview of the activities of the Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), the Executive Chairman of the Board, Mrs. Ozavize Salami, said that the recruitment exercise had been completed and the successful candidates would be issued their letters of employment by Monday.

Mrs. Salami further explained that when the state government noticed the teachers gaps across the 18 local government areas of the state, Governor Godwin Obaseki directed that the EdoSTAR programme, which entails the recruitment of applicants willing to take up teaching appoints in their local government area on part-time basis for a period of three years during which they would be trained and then recruited later to fill the gaps.

The programme, which took off in 2022, Salami further explained, had been greatly successful as those recruited not only stayed in the rural areas, but showed enough commitment and dedication to their work such that parents and guardians alike could monitor their children and wards’ learning journeys, while the state government, through SUBEB, also monitored the teachers from the date on the teaching tablet devices given to them.

According to her, “Edo Best started in 2018 and the state has become very popular because of the programme as every primary school in the state are onboarded in the programme. And with that, we have been able to build an accountability system and gain a lot from the technology.

“Teachers are more committed, and we have achieved a level of stability such that as a parent in Edo State, you can tell the learning journey of your children. Learning and teaching are also better done through the tablets given to the teachers.”

On Edo STAR programme, she explained that the aim was to keep recruiting teachers constantly to address the dearth of teachers in the rural areas, with the take-off number being 3,000 teachers who would be assessed after three years and recruited as permanent teachers.
The employment of the new 5,500 teachers, the SUBEB Chairman added, was part of the state government’s responses to the 11,000 teacher gaps it noticed in the state’s basic education, adding that of the 19,931 applications received, 16, 038 made it to the computer-based test and the subsequent interview.

She stated: “This recruitment exercise is part of our strategy to close the teacher gap in primary and junior secondary schools. It is another testament to Governor Obaseki’s unwavering commitment to fulfilling the promise of delivering quality education to the children of Edo State.
“Most of the new teachers are young and vibrant; they will reinvigorate the existing crop of teachers in the school system. Governor Obaseki continues to put in place measures that will sustain the position of Edo as a leader in reform in Nigeria and beyond.”

She noted further that: “A remarkable feature of the recently concluded recruitment is that over 70% of EdoSTAR fellows who were engaged as trainee teachers two years ago were recruited to full-time government teachers. The fellows who are signed up to a minimum wage salary have benefited from the recent wage increase in the state which took their salary from N40,000 to N70,000 in May 2024.”

One of the newly recruited EdoSTAR teachers, Miss Ohenhen Adoye, from Esan Central Local Government Area, noted: “I am happy to have gone through an excellent and professional recruitment exercise to formally join the civil service.

“In my years as an EdoSTAR, I have been diligent at my school of primary assignment, I have gone through capacity building sessions and even online certifications. I cannot wait to pick up my official letter. I am so excited.”

Another candidate, Ohirhein Augustine from Owan East Local Government Area but serving in Orhionwhon stated: “I have been an EdoSTAR fellow since 2022 and there were rumours that we would not be absorbed into the civil service after our EdoSTAR fellowship.

“Some People were saying we would be dumped like N-Power teachers after our EdoSTAR fellowship.