The Nasarawa State Government has announced plans to compensate 4,000 teachers who were wrongly recruited by the State Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) without proper authorisation. The move is part of efforts to resolve the long-running controversy surrounding the irregular recruitment exercise.
The Commissioner for Education, Mr. John Mamman, disclosed this during a ministerial briefing on Monday in Lafia. He explained that Governor Abdullahi Sule had initially approved the recruitment of 1,000 teachers, but the TSC exceeded that number, reportedly under political pressure. The overreach prompted the cancellation of the entire exercise and the subsequent dismissal of the commission’s management.
“The decision to pay the affected teachers is a significant step towards resolving the crisis surrounding their recruitment,” Mr. Mamman said.
“Those who actually worked will be paid for the period they served, while those who only reported to their duty posts but did not work will each receive ₦100,000,” he added.
Mr. Mamman said a government investigation uncovered four categories of irregularities in the recruitment process: some teachers were deployed and worked for several months; others reported but did not work; some failed to report at all; while a final group had no records in government files.
To address existing vacancies caused by retirements, transfers, and deaths, the commissioner said the governor had approved the recruitment of 1,500 new teachers. A fresh opportunity was also offered to the 4,000 affected individuals to participate in the new exercise, but only 781 met the criteria and were subsequently employed by an independent consulting firm.
“We have reopened the recruitment portal to allow more qualified candidates to fill the remaining positions approved by the governor,” he said.
Mr. Mamman emphasised that the state government’s actions demonstrate its commitment to transparency, accountability, and the improvement of education standards in Nasarawa State.
