A social Commentator and Publisher of The Policy and Lawmakers Magazine, Prince Bolarin Friday Ogungbemi, has appealed to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi State to urgently approve the recruitment of 2,871 teachers to fill existing vacancies in oublic schools in the state.
Ogungbemi said the immediare past administration had earlier approved the recruitment of the teachers but the approval is yet to be implemented by the Ododo administration.
He made the appeal for the recruitment of qualified teachers during a press Conference in Lokoja on Tuesday.
Ogungbemi also chided the state government for its failure to make education affordable and accessible.
He said the state was currently facing a deficit of about 9,948 teachers, warning that the shortage had continued to undermine effective teaching and learning in public schools.
According to him, the last major recruitment exercise fell short of the approved number, noting that although approval was granted for the recruitment of 3,979 teachers, only about 1,108 were eventually employed.
He further alleged that about 200 of those recruited later resigned due to poor conditions of service, while retirements and deaths had further widened the manpower gap.
The publisher also expressed concern over the situation in the primary education sector, claiming that many public primary schools were operating with inadequate personnel due to the absence of recruitment since 2014.
He urged the state government to lift the employment ban at both the state and local government levels to strengthen the education sector.
Ogungbemi also faulted the state government’s handling of the recent abduction of students, a school principal and a NECO official at Government Secondary School, Olowa, in Dekina Local Government Area during the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination.
He criticised the government’s description of the school as a “miracle centre,” noting that the National Examinations Council (NECO) had publicly refuted the claim.
According to him, NECO maintained that Government Secondary School, Olowa, is a duly recognised public school that has presented candidates for its examinations since 2000.
He said the examination body also disclosed that the school had consistently registered candidates for its examinations over the years and that the Kogi State Government had paid examination fees for candidates from the school during the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination.
Ogungbemi said the conflicting positions had raised concerns and urged public officials to ensure accuracy before making public statements on sensitive issues.
The publisher also criticised the state government’s continued enforcement of the ban on graduation ceremonies for Nursery, Primary Six and Junior Secondary School Three pupils.
He argued that the policy was being perceived by many stakeholders as unfavourable to private schools, alleging that while private schools remained subject to various levies and compulsory education-related charges, their students were excluded from government-sponsored examination support enjoyed by pupils in public schools.
He questioned the rationale behind compelling private school students to participate in some state education programmes while they were excluded from certain government interventions.
Ogungbemi called on Governor Ododo to review what he described as gaps in the state’s education policies, strengthen public schools through the recruitment of qualified teachers and provide a more inclusive education system that caters for both public and private school students.
He maintained that addressing the challenges facing the education sector would improve learning outcomes and reposition public education in Kogi State.
((vitalnewsngr.com)
