Ekiti State Government has reversed the appointment of 100 newly recruited teachers, following economic challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chairman of the Teaching Service Commission, Mr. Babatunde Abegunde, said in a statement on Thursday that the appointment was suspended to prevent a situation where teachers would not get salary.
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Abegunde said Governor Kayode Fayemi has directed the refund of money paid by successful candidates in the process of their appointment for purchase of the Teaching Service Manual, Service Record and Job Cards among others.
He explained contrary to insinuation in some quarters, the government displayed a high degree of fairness in the recruitment exercise.
He added that the sudden upsurge of the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant economic downturn as well as the ENDSARS protest stalled the process.
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Abegunde recalled the commission commenced the process by mid-2020, adding the target could not be met due to the lockdown and other effects of the global pandemic.
He said: “The process of recruiting the first batch of 400 teachers started in October 2019 and was concluded in November 2020, adding that the recruitment of the 100-second batch teachers began after the first set of appointees were posted to the school.
“The letters of appointment would have been given immediately after documentation but was however not feasible because of the current economic limitations of the State.”
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