By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Some applicants seeking employment in Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s open window for recruitment of 5,000 teachers across the state have described the exercise as “Soludo 419”.

They lamented that the site for the exam crashed about 30 minutes into the exercise.

The applicants wondered how six thousand applicants successfully submitted their papers after the crash as was disclosed to them.

Recall that the state recently called for application for recruitment of teachers into the state’s school system wherein forty thousand job seekers applied.

Out of the number, the state had shortlisted about thirty one thousand for online exam today (Saturday) where the required number would be recruited from on merit.

A public announcement in that respect from the state’s ministry of education partly read, “The ministry received 40,000 plus applications. The ministry listed about 31,800 qualified applicants after reviews.

“Applicants who are too old for civil service, graduates without NYSC discharged certificate or exemption letter and most Non-Anambrarians were disqualified.

“Against the proposed 5,000 qualified applicants to be shortlisted for CBT exam, the governor directed that all the over 31,000 listed applicants should be given equal chance to participate in a preliminary online exam, before shortlisting the successful applicants for 2nd CBT exam.

“The preliminary exam will be online and holds on Saturday 4/6/2022 at your comfort zone/home/place and with your device-smart phone, laptop or Cyber cafe.The applicants to get ready for the exam by 10:30am on the Saturday.

“The exam will start off at 11am dot on the Saturday and will last for one hour (11am to 12noon)

“The applicants will receive their login password an hour before the exam time and log in at 10:55am to get set for the exam. Your exam result/score will pop up on your device once you submit.

“No 2nd chance if you miss the exam.

“There will be 2nd selection CBT exam for the applicants that will scale through the 1st preliminary google online exam successfully. To be announced when due.

“Applicants are cautioned not to give money to any person for securing appointment in the recruitment process, as it’s not possible and it is also a crime. Appointment will be on merit base.”

But one of the applicants, Kenechukwu Ibe described the exercise as a sham, saying that the opportunity was created by tye governor to recruit friends and cronies his cabinet.

He said: “This is another 419 from this government. Remember that when Soludo started, he said his political appointees would take exams before they would be appointed. Where did that exam take place? In the end, he ended up recruiting his friends and cronies into his cabinet.

“Today again, another 419 has taken place in the guise of recruitment of teachers by exam. We were about 30 minutes into the exam when the site went off. Now somebody is telling us that six thousand applicants successful submitted their papers.

“This is funny. Why won’t they tell us that they had taken bribe from 6,000 persons to give them jobs? I don’t expect this level of corruption from Soludo.”

In her reaction, the Anambra State Commissioner for Education, Prof Ngozi Chuma Udeh, said that she had answered over 3000 calls in about one hour over matters arising from teachers’ recruitment examination that took place across the state.

She complained of having headaches as a result of the avalanche of calls she had received shortly after the exam ended.

She said: “Stop disturbing my peace. I have not slept since three days now because of this exercise. Shortly after the exam, I have received over 3,000 calls on this matter. You can’t answer that number of calls if you were in my shoes. I’m having headache.

“I don’t know what they meant by that the site crashed. Over 6,000 applicants submitted their papers successfully, and that is what I’m going to report to the governor and not what you are telling me that they complained.”

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