The Commissioner for Basic Education in Lagos State, Honourable Jamiu Ali Balogun, has revealed that teachers are currently being employed at the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) in Lagos State.

He revealed this at a programme organised by the Diamond Progressive Movement (DPM) aimed at grooming students into good leadership positions for the future.

When asked by a student why there were shortages of teachers in core subjects like Mathematics, Physics, English, and Chemistry, the commissioner said, “Right now, teachers are being interviewed in TESCOM. There is replacement going on for teachers who were employed over 30 years ago, during the Jakande era. And you know most of them are retiring now.”

The commissioner’s statement is contrary to TESCOM stance that news reports about ongoing teachers’ recruitment are false.

Recently, the Deputy Director of Public Affairs at TESCOM, Mr. Kayode Sutton, had said that STEM teachers would be recruited soon.

He noted that the commission has maintained a targeted approach in hiring educators, and under the current administration of the Lagos State Government, adding that significant efforts have been made to enhance the educational landscape by providing comprehensive training for teachers, thereby boosting their effectiveness in educating students.

“We have specific teachers called STEM teachers, that is the Science (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology); Technical; English and Mathematics teachers; they are in dire need in most of our schools. Therefore, we are giving priority to them in employment, and that will continue because teachers for these subjects are scarce and not easy to come by, and we must fill any available vacancy.

“That does not imply that teachers of other subjects are not considered for employment. In fact, we have them in abundance across the schools. However, we place priority on the STEM teachers in all schools across the education districts, and we have been employing quite a good number of them because of their importance,” he said.