Behind every successful classroom is a teacher and many schools across Nigeria still don’t have enough of them.
Katsina State is hoping to change that as the government continues expanding its teaching workforce. On Friday, Governor Dikko Radda presented appointment letters to 2,158 newly recruited teachers, bringing the total number of teachers employed by his administration since 2023 to more than 9,000.
The governor described the recruitment as another step towards rebuilding the state’s education sector and improving access to quality learning.
According to him, the exercise followed a transparent and merit-based process to ensure that qualified teachers are posted to schools where they are needed most.
“Today marks another important milestone in our administration’s unwavering commitment to rebuilding and repositioning the education sector in Katsina State. It reflects our determination to fulfil the promise of our development agenda by investing in our people and equipping our young generation with quality education,” Radda said.
He noted that his administration had earlier recruited 7,323 teachers in 2023, while the latest exercise was designed to further strengthen the state’s education workforce.
Radda also highlighted several education projects undertaken since assuming office, including the construction of more than 49 junior and senior secondary schools, the establishment of three Special Smart Schools, the rehabilitation of over 340 primary schools, teacher training programmes and digital learning initiatives.
According to the governor, more than 25,000 teachers have received training, while the government has introduced a ₦30,000 rural teachers’ allowance, distributed 18,000 digital tablets, provided electronic motorcycles for teachers in remote communities and established a Centre for Teacher Development and Training.
He added that this year’s recruitment was the first in the state’s history to be based on the specific staffing needs of individual schools and subject areas.
“The recruitment exercise was deliberately designed to be transparent, merit-based and inclusive. For the first time in the history of our State, teacher recruitment was conducted based on the actual staffing needs of individual schools and subject requirements,” he said.
Congratulating the successful applicants, the governor urged them to serve with professionalism, integrity and dedication.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Yusuf Jibia, revealed that 64,598 applicants applied for the recruitment exercise.
He explained that 8,889 candidates were shortlisted after screening, 3,683 progressed to the oral interview after passing the Computer-Based Test, while 2,158 were eventually selected.
Jibia maintained that the recruitment was conducted strictly on merit, without political interference, and that postings were determined by schools’ staffing needs and subject specialisation.
The Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Kabir Magaji, expressed confidence that the newly recruited teachers would help improve classroom learning and reduce teacher shortages across the state.
Speaking on behalf of the successful applicants, Ashiru Nura thanked the state government for the opportunity and pledged that the new teachers would carry out their responsibilities with diligence and honesty.
The newly recruited teachers will serve under the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education and SUBEB and will be deployed to primary and secondary schools across Katsina State where they are most needed.
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