Amidst complaints from various levels of government about insufficient funds and an unwillingness to raise salaries in this hard time, Oyo State, created on February 3, 1976, has stood out under Governor Oluseyi Makinde. The state has decided to employ an additional 7,500 primary school teachers through the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board under the chairmanship of Dr Nureni

Initially, 52,000 applicants registered for the employment opportunity, necessitating a reduction in numbers to achieve the desired outcome through test. The test venue is the Distance Learning Institute of the University of Ibadan in Ajibode area, Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State. Premierlead reported on the progress of the tests and interviewed candidates amidst the large crowd, revealing that many traveled from places such as Ilorin, Lokoja, Saki, Eruwa, Okeho, Kishi, and Igboho to participate.

Shuaibu Hamzat, an applicant from Kaduna, registered the second day the job portal was opened and scheduled to write his test on July 23, 2024, at 10 am. However, he was seen struggling to enter the venue amidst the large crowd at around some minute to 12 in the noon.

Shuaibu's case is one among thousands, who had to travel down to Ibadan for the test. There are buses from various states such as Zamfara, Kaduna parked in front of the venue gate waiting for applicants to be done. One woman, identified as Hajia, mentioned that she completed her NCE program 10 years ago at the College of Education, Akwanga, and her first degree at Nasarawa State University, Keffi. She traveled from Abuja and had been in Ibadan since Sunday evening just for the test.

A common complaint among the applicants was the University of Ibadan's inability, as the consultant to Oyo State for the screening exercise, to adhere strictly to the initially scheduled times as communicated via email to all applicants.

Yesterday, I passed by the SUBEB head office, adjacent to the governor's house in Ibadan, and noticed a very large crowd. Initially, I thought they might have called those who passed the SUBEB CBT test, i.e., those who scored 50% and above, for documentation. I was heading to Bodija and planned to inquire about the situation on my way back.

An hour later, I returned and joined the crowd. After speaking with a few people, I deduced that most of them had not scored up to 50%. In fact, I met a woman who scored 36 and was there seeking assistance from acquaintances in various capacities within the SUBEB office.

I managed to enter some offices to interrogate the officers. I asked what these people were doing there and if documentation had started. The officers told me that the crowd was uncalled for and that it was not yet time for documentation. However, I observed that result slips were being collected from candidates, most of whom had low scores.

I am concerned that Oyo State might have compromised its stance on merit in the recruitment, selection, and placement processes. I plan to meet with Dr. Nureni, the SUBEB chairman, as well as officials from the Ministry of Education and, finally, the governor's office to investigate further.