Kudos To Amaechi On Teachers’ Recruitment

It is an undeniable axiom that education is enlightenment.
As the saying goes, if education is costly, try ignorance. At the same time,
education is sine qua non to development. For any human society to develop,
there must be a corresponding investment in the education of the citizens. On
this premise, therefore, any government that invests in education is laying a
solid foundation. No amount of money invested in education is wasted.

It is against this backdrop I commend the Rivers State
Government for its recent recruitment of teachers into the various primary and
secondary schools in the state. Worthy of commendation is the fact that the
state government did not limit the recruitment exercise to Rivers indigenes
alone. It extends the opportunities to all qualified Nigerians, irrespective of
their states of origin.

Teaching profession is an enviable calling predicated on the
development of intellects and human advancement. The nobility of this
profession is so elastic and indispensable to human race that it will be better
appreciated when condensed into a phrase, ‘teachers of men’. Inherent in this is
the acquisition of knowledge from ‘superior persons. It is a very serious
business that must not be left in the hands of charlatans and quacks.

To this end, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has ensured
that favouritism and nepotism are relegated in the recruitment exercise by
ensuring that the best brains are recruited on merit via aptitude test. This is
a welcome development. Those who condemn this, do not mean well for the state.

I am very optimistic that a high sense of transparency will
be recorded in this recruitment exercise. This could be deduced in the
appointment of the current chief executive in the education sector.

For instance, the appointment of a one-time Commissioner for
Education in Rivers State and a former lecturer, Hon. Allwell Onyeso, as
Chairman, Post Primary Schools Board, speaks volume of Governor Amaechi’s
determination and vision to save the public schools from total collapse.
Suffice it  to say that Honourable
Allwell Onyeso, having served as a commissioner for education and lecturer for
many years, is well experienced and capable of stiring the wheel of education
in Rivers State to a reasonable standard.

Before now, Amaechi had embarked on the construction of
modern primary and secondary schools across the 23 local government areas of
Rivers State so as to enable the students study under a conducive atmosphere.

However, I am of the view that something should also be done
to allay the fears of those who applied for the non-academic category. Up til
now, nothing has been said about them. They too deserve to be considered in the
on-going recruitment exercise so as to reduce the level of unemployment in the
state.

Iroegbu is a Student of Mass Communication, RSUST, Port
Harcourt.

Godspower C. Iroegbu