Kwara Government Losses Over N400m To Illegal Recruitment

Kwara State Government has lost over N400m since 2014 due to illegal recruitment of 516 employees by the State Teaching Service Commission.

This is part of the findings of an Administrative Panel of Enquiry instituted by the state Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed on the illegal recruitment into the Kwara State Teaching Service Commission.

The Chairman of the Panel, Alhaji Yusuf Kawu Daibu, while presenting the panel’s report to the State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed said the panel discovered that the State Teaching Service Commission illegally employed 965 employees instead of the 449 approved by the Governor in 2014.

Alhaji Daibu said the selection and recruitment were “haphardly done as there were no records of shortlisted candidates or record of an interview panel that should have formed the basis of the final list of those recruited”.

The panel recommended, among other things, that the recruitments should be reviewed and limited to the 449 by considering “the genuine need of the Teaching Service Commission for additional hands especially in Mathematics, the Core Sciences and English Language”.

On how to prevent future occurrence, the panel recommended that the enabling law establishing the Teaching Service Commission should be reviewed to take care of some structural defects and that the oversight function of the state Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development on the commission should be enforced.

It also recommended that an effective Database should be established for monitoring of entries and exits from the employment of Kwara State Teaching Service Commission.

The State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed said the Administrative Panel of Enquiry was part of his administration’s efforts in boosting the quality of education in the State through judicious use of resources while ensuring that the right quality manpower is recruited.

Dr Ahmed underscored the critical role of teachers to functional education and human capital development, adding that his administration “will continue to ensure that due process is followed in the recruitment of teachers in Teaching Service Commission and other state-owned educational institutions”.

“While we have reviewed subvention to some tertiary institutions in line with our emphasis on prudence, our commitment to funding education in a targeted and sustainable fashion remains unwavering”.