Some teachers employed during the recent recruitment exercise of the Bayelsa State Government have protested their sack.

The recruitment exercise had been marred by controversy, forcing Governor Senator Douye Diri to issue a directive to the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Gentle Emelah, to review the process.

The sacked teachers, armed with placards such as ?We shall fight for our rights,? ?This injustice must stop,? ?Sack the Commissioner for Education, not the struggling teachers,? and ?Education matters, don?t play politics with our careers,? urged the government to rescind its decision to cancel the recruitment exercise.

One of the sacked teachers, Mrs. Lucia Sinizibe from Yenagoa, lamented that she is a qualified teacher who had been jobless since 2015. According to her, she was overjoyed when she got the job, but the news of the cancellation has been devastating.

?This process started when I was pregnant, and now my child is seven months old. I was happy when I got the job. But this news of cancellation is not good. We have worked for seven months, and we deserve better treatment. Let the governor have mercy on us,? she said.

The sacked teachers were unanimous in their call for reinstatement or compensation for the seven months they had worked.

The state government cancelled the recruitment exercise following a review that confirmed it was not in tandem with the government?s objectives.

The Commissioner for Information, Orientation, and Strategy, Mrs. Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, in a statement, confirmed that the exercise violated service rules and breached the State Executive Council?s approval.

?The Governor of Bayelsa State, His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, has approved the cancellation of the teachers? recruitment exercise recently conducted by the State Post-Primary Schools Board.

?The cancellation is sequel to the violation of the Service Rule and disregard for the State Executive Council?s approval mandating the Board to employ Nine Hundred and Ninety-Five (995) teachers based on a verified needs assessment.

?Furthermore, the Governor has also constituted a high-powered committee to coordinate a fresh recruitment exercise into the existing vacancies in the secondary school system, with the directive that candidates who participated in the botched recruitment exercise up to the point of documentation are first considered, provided they fit into the needs assessment. In view of this, the committee, working with relevant agencies, will soon invite the candidates,? she said.

Mrs. Koku-Obiyai stated that the new committee set up to oversee the recruitment exercise is headed by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, Mr. Irorodamie Komonibo. Other members include Mrs. Koku-Obiyai; the Technical Adviser to the Governor on Treasury Accounts, Mr. Timipre Seipolu; Mr. Felix Asingbi, Permanent Secretary of General Services, Dr. Hamilton Ekeke; Mr. Yela Joseph Alagoa, Permanent Secretary of Establishment, Training and Pension Bureau; and Dr. (Mrs.) Stella Ugolo, Acting Chairman, Teacher Training and Certification Board. (Daily Sun)

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