By Abdulkareem Haruna

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has greenlit the immediate hiring of 4,000 teachers, who have been evaluated and shortlisted for assignment to public primary and secondary schools throughout the state. The announcement was made on Wednesday evening in Maiduguri.

The new recruits, consisting of 3,000 primary school teachers and 1,000 secondary school teachers, will be distributed across government schools in the state. The majority of the primary school teachers, 77.4%, hold National Certificate in Education (NCE), 22.2% are degree holders, and 0.6% hold Higher National Diplomas (HND).

The secondary school teachers comprise 5 master’s degree holders, 658 bachelor’s degree holders, 8 HND holders, and 130 NCE holders. The latter group, making up 13% of the total, will primarily teach subjects such as French, English literature, Hausa, Technology, and civic education. Additionally, 11 diploma holders in science and laboratory technology have been hired as lab attendants, and 23 matrons and 68 cooks have been recruited to cater to the students.

The 4,000 teachers were chosen from a pool of 19,305 applicants, 10,470 of whom sat for assessment examinations in various subjects. A total of 621 applicants achieved distinction grades, and 162 achieved merit grades. These high-scoring candidates were prioritized for recruitment, along with some lower-scoring candidates who demonstrated competence in specific subjects such as French and Literature.

This recruitment drive follows a February 2021 assessment by a committee established by Governor Zulum, which found that only 31.6% of the 17,229 assessed teachers were competent to teach. The committee also discovered that 46.3% were trainable, while 22.1% were deemed untrainable.

Governor Zulum has directed that competent teachers receive minimum wage and that those found incompetent be reassigned to non-teaching government roles. The governor also ordered the committee to conduct a rigorous assessment examination to shortlist competent teachers, resulting in the current recruitment of 4,000 teachers.

The names of the shortlisted teachers have been released by the recruitment committee and will be publicly displayed at the Musa Usman secretariat, the state’s Ministry of Education, the Teaching Service Board (TSB), and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in Maiduguri. Shortlisted candidates are advised to verify their data for accuracy.