The Oyo State Post-Primary Teaching Service Commission TESCOM has today commenced the training of five thousand newly recruited teachers in the State.
The disclosure on the training was made known by the Chairman of the Commission, Pastor Akinade Alamu while briefing the press men during the induction of the teachers.
Pastor Alamu said, that examination malpractice in schools has been stamped out in the State, as the 5000 newly-recruited teachers and 700 were trained on working ethics and conducts among other areas, as part of induction exercise approved for the teachers.
He said this while declaring open a two-day Induction and Training Programme for the newly-recruited and converted teachers on Monday at Ansar-Deen Grammar School, Sango, Saki, Saki West Local Government.
Alamu stated that reports coming from the schools the newly-recruited teachers were posted showed that they have been performing more than expected, an achievement he attributed to the rigorous academic standards set for their recruitment.
Recall that about 400 of the applicants for the teaching appointment were first class graduates from universities in Nigeria, while the cut-off mark for selection of successful applicants was pegged at 50% (fifty percent).
“We have achieved what many administrations before the advent of Governor Seyi Makinde could not achieve, today I can tell you that apart from an upward curve in performance chat of our students in internal and external examinations, the evil effects of exams malpractice is no more, as we have stamped out the bad habit.
“This was achieved through the provision of required teaching and learning inputs and encouraging welfare package for the teachers, while students today have access to books, science equipments and good learning environment.
“The aim of this training is to ensure that students performance in WAEC and NECO examinations match government investment on education, we believe that in line with the national policy on education declaration 2006, which states that no education system can rise above the quality of teachers in the system.
“There is need to focus on teachers’ adequacy and competence since the success of students will always depend largely on the amount of learning that take place in the classrooms, I appeal to all participants to make the best use of the opportunity provided by this training exercise.”
The TESCOM Chairman informed the gathering that the State government has recently approved the establishment of four new zonal offices for the State, out of which two would be at the Oke-Ogun area of the State.
He added that the implication of the new zonal offices was that four new Permanent Secretaries would be appointed.
Also at the training was the Chairman, Saki West Local Government, Engr. Sarafadeen Omirinde, the Full-Time Member of Board of TESCOM, Alhaji Mudasiru Awujoola, Part-Time Board Member, Hon. Akeem Olalekan, representative of the State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), who is the Chairman Saki West NUT, Alhaji Mikhail Adedoyin and the Oke-Ogun Zone 1 Chairman of the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary School (ANCOPPS).