26,000 Applicants Compete for 6,000 Smart School Job Slots in Enugu

Enugu State’s smart school initiative sees 26,000 applicants vying for just 6,000 job openings, highlighting the intense competition and high demand for employment in the education sector.

A total of 26,000 applicants vied for the available 6,000 smart school job positions in Enugu State.

Assessing the candidates began four days ago and is presently ongoing concurrently at both Enugu State College of Education Technical and Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu.

Speaking to reporters at the IMT location of the training, Professor Ndubueze Mbah – Commissioner for Education – declared that Governor Peter Mbah’s administration is dedicated to elevating educational standards in the state; this exercise serves as evidence of their commitment.

He revealed that the ministry had received submissions from 26,330 individuals. He further explained that they needed to establish an impartial method of assessing their expertise in specific subjects and fundamental skills in digital literacy.

We devised a computerized exam to accomplish this task, which is being conducted concurrently at both Enugu State College of Education Technical and the Institute of Management and Technology.

At these two centres, we test a minimum of 6,000 candidates every day.

The assessment covers four areas according to Mbah, namely: the subject area that candidates will teach along with their proficiency in English language and General Mathematics.

“Both of these are crucial as, according to our November baseline assessment report from last year in Enugu State schools, two out of every four children exhibit inadequate literacy and numerical skills.”

“We consider it imperative to ensure that educators responsible for our children’s education possess fundamental abilities in numeracy and literacy. Hence, we have instituted comprehensive evaluations in Mathematics and English.”

Basic digital literacy tests are also administered to them since smart schools necessitate the use of computers, smart boards, and a digital hybrid library among other high-tech features. As such, teachers need to possess at least fundamental computer skills before instructing in this type of environment.

He revealed that Enugu State has mandated all teachers to submit an application, and the opportunity is available for anyone who meets the minimum requirements.

“There are applicants in each local government and the assessment process is free from bias and standardized. Our aim is to recruit teachers who possess content knowledge for effective teaching.”

We have received a total of 26,330 applications and will be recruiting 6,000 individuals. Those who qualify will undergo six months of rigorous training after which they’ll be assigned to schools managed by ENSUBEB.

The requirement for posting is limited to individuals who have been endorsed by the Ministry of Education as intelligent educators and assigned to teach in smart schools.

Phase 1 involves registering all successful trainees in the teachers’ registry. The smart schools will then draw their educators from this pool of registered individuals.

We will repeat this in January as Phase 2 of the plan to reach a minimum of 12,000 teachers.

Our goal is to ensure the success of at least 10,000 out of the 12,000 teachers we will be training.

Each smart school has 40 teachers and there are a total of 260 such schools. Calculating the numbers, we get around 10,400 teachers in all. However, with an addition of five more smart schools (making it to a total count of 265), we will now have approximately over 10,600 teachers for these intelligent institutions.

In order to provide children with the same level of quality education that is available in developed areas around the world, the State Government initiated a significant project as stated by The Commissioner.

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The assertion is that teaching, like medicine or engineering, falls under the category of a profession. Just as you wouldn’t seek out an unqualified individual for medical treatment if your child were ill.

Investing N1 billion to build and equip a smart school would be futile if the occupants of its classrooms lack the appropriate skills and knowledge required to effectively function in that setting.

Not only will our children be disadvantaged, but also the citizens of Enugu whose taxes are being utilized for constructing and furnishing these educational institutions.

“To promote the welfare of the general public, His Excellency has ordered that it is our responsibility as a ministry to not only seek skilled applicants but also provide them with exceptional training.”

Teachers will undergo a three-month training program, which includes experts from around the globe arriving in Enugu to train them. This initiative aims to equip educators not only with mastery of their subjects but also digital teaching techniques and experiential learning methods that promote active engagement among students. The ultimate goal is for our children to learn by doing.

Our actions in Enugu state are unparalleled; though some believed it couldn’t be done, we trust our governor to turn his dreams into reality.

He dismissed the notion of politicians taking control of the process, emphasizing that the governor upholds a strong belief in excellence.

I want to assure the Enugu people that this is a test based on competency.

The reason behind posting teachers to their respective wards in the local government areas they belong to is our effort to address the issue of teacher-absenteeism.

Due to political considerations, we cannot accept individuals who haven’t passed the exam or undergone the necessary training.

“We are obligated to ensure the integrity of the process as it is an express mandate from His Excellency. Our children’s future depends on this, thus we cannot fulfill your request.”

He also disclosed that applicants who are not natives of the state have an equal chance to apply and will be evaluated solely on their qualifications.