The Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD), a civil society organization, has called on Governor AbdulRahman of Kwara State to pause the recruitment process for teachers by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). The board had announced plans to hire 1,611 teaching and non-teaching staff across the state’s 16 local government areas, as detailed by Chairman Professor Raheem Adaramaja in August.
Adaramaja noted that the recruitment would be based on a recent needs assessment conducted in all councils. However, ENetSuD argues that the Kwara State Government (KWSG) should not recruit teachers without a clear commitment to their salaries. Currently, local governments are solely responsible for paying SUBEB teachers in primary and junior secondary schools, even though funding for junior secondary education is not constitutionally mandated at the local level.
“It is well-known that the KWSG does not contribute anything towards the salaries of SUBEB teachers,” the organization stated. “The state only covers the salaries for senior secondary school teachers under the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM).”
According to ENetSuD, local governments bear the full financial burden of paying SUBEB teachers, which significantly impacts their budgets and limits available funds for essential community development projects.
The organization expressed concern over the rationale behind the KWSG’s continued hiring of teachers without financial support. ENetSuD insists that, in light of recent Supreme Court rulings affirming local government autonomy, Governor AbdulRahman should allow local councils to manage their own recruitment processes after the upcoming local elections.
“Continued control over local government finances contradicts the autonomy upheld by the Supreme Court. We urge the governor to suspend the planned recruitment of SUBEB teachers and permit local governments to take full responsibility for such hiring once properly constituted,” the statement concluded.
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