Kwara govt loses over N400m to illegal recruitment

Kwara State government has lost over N400 million since 2014 due to illegal recruitment of 516 employees by the  Kwara State Teaching Service Commission(KSTSC).

This  was  part of the findings of an administrative panel of inquiry instituted by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, on illegal recruitment into  KSTSC.

The chairman of the panel, Alhaji Yusuf Kawu Daibu, while presenting the panel’s report to  Governor Ahmed, said the panel discovered that KSTSC  illegally employed 965 employees, instead of the 449 approved by the  state governor in 2014.

Alhaji Daibu said the selection and recruitment were “haphazardly 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 needs of the  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   KSTSC 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 KSTSC.

The governor said the  panel  was part of his administration’s efforts in boosting the quality of education in the state through judicious use of resources.

He 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.