By Yusuf Jabatawa Jabs

Unemployment today is what one should not wish an enemy. The travails of an unemployed person like sleepless nights, prayers and fasting, begging and seeking for connections, blaming village people etc are burdens too many for a graduate to bear.

Unfortunately today, the woes of the unemployed in Nigeria today is increasing astronomically while available employment spaces is shrinking abysmally! To add to their woes, only those with money and connection finds a reasonably paying employment in Nigeria.

Adamawa state is not left out in adding to those sad tales of those seeking for employment. Recently, the Adamawa state government advertised a 2000 vacancy for those seeking for Teaching career in the state Post primary schools management board.

This forms were to be sold at 500 for only science, English and mathematics related graduates. Later, the state government magnanimously gave the forms for free. Unfortunately, the announcement heralded so many crises which led to alleged selling of forms and breaking of the zonal office in Gombi/Hong by desperate applicants.

In order to correct the anomalies of the exercise, a new recruitment portal was announced yesterday by the Honourable commissioner of Education. Ordinarily, this move need to be applauded for taking a radical departure from the old ways, being timely and an attempt to give all a fair chance to apply.

More so, the scope of the employment is broadened to accommodate all courses against the previous exercise meant for some selected subjects only. However, some pertinent questions needs to be asked and suggestions made so as to reduce the stress, burden and anxiety of all applicants:

1. Who or which organization is handling the exercise?
2. What are the selection procedures?
3. How can graduates in rural areas with poor network access the sites?

To start with, in my own honest opinion, I am not sure which state agency is saddled with the new responsibility of this recruitment but I am of the opinion that a reputable employment firm outside the state should be contracted to handle the whole recruitment exercise. This is necessary to remove the fears of manipulation, control by politicians and numerous shaddy under dealings.

Secondly, the modus operandi should be made public. The selection process should be spelt out clearly and if possible, a CBT(computer based test) should be used to select most eligible candidates among the many would be applicants.

Lastly, the issue of connectivity, poor internet access, availability of electricity in rural areas, cost of travelling from rural to urban areas etc should be factored in so that most intending applicants will not be shortchanged automatically by either technology or other extraneous factors.

Instructively, the Teaching profession is not just an ordinary profession that every tom, dick and harry should be absorbed no matter what. The task of teaching and imparting knowledge is a moral, spiritual, intellectual and social exercise that should not be too loose.

Stringent measures should be adopted to ensure that the best are employed while the rest and giving others opportunities in entrepreneurial and skill acquisition programs. I urge the handlers of the exercise to be honest, sincere and transparent so that the best brains will be absorbed and better the lot of our students.