The Oyo State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) on Monday began the presentation of appointment letters to People Living With Disabilities (PLWDs) engaged in teaching jobs in the state.
The 150 newly recruited teachers were presented with their appointment letters at a brief ceremony which held at the Commission’s Agodi-Secretariat Office, Ibadan.
Apart from the 150 news teachers, additional 50 PLWDs would be engaged as non-teaching staff, under the ongoing recruitment exercise by the state government.
The Chairman of the Commission, Mr Akinade Alamu, who said it is part of the recruitment exercise started almost a year ago in the state, in which Governor Makinde approved the appointment of 7000 school staffers, disclosed that every necessary precaution had been taken to ensure that the slot for the PLWDs are not taken by able-bodied individuals.
Alamu stated: “Today, we are giving out letters to People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs). There have been some complaints and misgivings and we decided to give out the letters to them (PLWDs) in an open space, in the presence of everybody, so that everybody will see that we have nothing to hide. If there is a complaint of the disabled people as touching the appointment of any person, we will all jointly withhold such letters.”
Also speaking, the Executive Assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde on Administration, Mr Idowu Ogedengbe, said the appointment is based on competence and qualification despite the physical challenges of the new recruits.
Ogedengbe noted: “We started these processes with one clear mind from the Governor that we only recruit those who are competent and must be based on a merit system. We only exempted the PLWDs from writing the CBT but we interviewed all of them. We also ensured that there are not able-bodied persons who are coming to take the slot of people living with disabilities.”
He revealed that after the exercise was completed, the umbrella body of the PLWDs came up to say they saw names of able-bodied people on the list and that was what necessitated the decision to issue the letters in an open environment so that the whole process would not be hijacked.
On the measure taken to ensure that the new recruits fit into the work environment despite their physical challenges, Ogedengbe said: “We are sure that there won’t be any protest after now, the Ministry of Education has acquired some teaching aids and some materials that will assist the PLWDs to carry out their responsibilities of teaching within the Oyo State education sector.
In his remarks, the Executive Assistant to Governor Makinde on Disability Matters, Mr Ayodele Adekanmbi, said the new recruits would be posted to schools where they can serve until their work environment is most conducive for them.
“Pending the time that the facilities would be all-inclusive, I have advised that they post them to any of the schools. Some of the model schools are accessible and I can assure you that they will cope for now until we bring some developmental partners to come and help us because the government cannot do everything alone,” Adekambi stated.
Zainab Sa’id
