Date: 2021-03-16

•other jittery applicants flee screening centre for fear of arrest

•Ilorin South, Isin, Oke Ero, Ekiti applicants rescheduled for March 22

Five applicants - including a disengaged sunset teacher — were on Monday arrested for presenting fake NCE certificates at the ongoing screening for the Kwara State teachers' recruitment exercise in Ilorin, the state capital.

The arrests were made as the government commenced the result verification/interview phase of the exercise.

The five applicants are Tanu Suleiman from Baruten local government; a disengaged sunset teacher Ibrahim M. Salihu from Baruten local government; Abdulrasaq Abdulakeem from Asa local government; Mohammed Ismaila from Baruten local government area; and Mohammed Abubakar also from Baruten local government.

Suleiman, Ismaila and Abubakar were caught with fake NCE results from Kwara State College of Education (Technical), Lafiagi while the duo of Salihu and Abdulraheem were caught with fake NCE results from Kwara State College of Education, Oro.

The results of the applicants' CBT are as follows: Mohammed Ismaila 42%; Ibrahim M. Salihu 48%; Tanu Suleiman 53%; Mohammed Abubakar 63%; and Abdulrasaq Abdulakeem 52%

The applicants have been handed over to security agencies for further investigations, while a number of applicants were also seen fleeing the centre of the interview for reasons that may include result counterfeiting.

Meanwhile applicants from Ilorin South, Isin, Oke Ero, Ekiti who had earlier been scheduled to appear for interview and results verification on Tuesday March 16 have had their own rescheduled for Monday March 22.

"This is to due to the fact that the Monday exercise started a bit behind schedule, so the panels were only able to interview applicants from Asa and Baruten LGAs. Therefore, applicants from Edu and Patigi will now be attended to on Tuesday, March 16. The government regrets the inconveniences this may cause to everyone involved," according to a statement from the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development.

"What this means therefore is that applicants from Ilorin South, Isin, Oke Ero,"and Ekiti local governments that were earlier booked for Tuesday will be attended to next Monday March 22. Similarly, the TESCOM interview/result verification will now start next Tuesday March 23rd, instead of Monday March 22. Further information will be communicated as may be necessary."

A total of 9,991 applicants hit the cutoffs in the two categories of the recruitment exercise, therefore qualifying them for the results verification/interview stage of the process.

The figures comprise 5,116 (SUBEB applicants) and 4,875 (TESCOM applicants).

Applicants had been mandated to come to the venue of the interview with the original and photocopies of their certificates and result checkers (scratch card) for O levels.

Yakub Ali-Agan

Press Secretary

Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development

March 15, 2021