Review call for teachers’ validation
I refer to the story, “Secondary teachers face fresh validation,” in the Daily Monitor of August 27. I read the story and got concerned with the way teachers’ issues are being handled in the country.
In the first place, the headline on the cover page scared me because I have been subjected to validation a number of times and I am sure the Ministry of Education have all they need to know about me. Therefore, subjecting me to another validation process would be unfair.
Allow me to explain the process of validation that teachers have been so far subjected to for the benefit of those who may not be aware. The process of validation requires a teacher to individually appear before validation officers at a designated place with photocopies and originals of all academic and professional documents.
The papers are scrutinised, the photocopies of the documents are retained by the officer, and the teacher takes back the originals. So to teachers, validation means spending their meagre resources on photocopying, transport to and from the validation centres, and staying hungry the whole day waiting to be validated.
So teachers, the article highlighted the ugly issues in the process of recruitment that included leaked aptitude test and disappearance of some candidates’ application documents.
These scenarios indicate that there are irregularities in the process and, therefore, complete absence of transparency and fairness in the whole process. In fact, some candidates told me that they received telephone calls asking them to follow up their applications with mobile money, which they ignored the call and were not even shortlisted.
I would like the public to know that teachers out there are not satisfied with the process as they believe it was marred with corruption and nepotism. The alterations that the commissioner is raising alarm at could even be out of the need for the “successful’ candidates to recover the money they used to buy their success. I, therefore, suggest the following:
The line ministry should recall all the appointments issued in July 2019 for scrutiny and those found suspected to have falsified their document be deregistered. This will save teaching service of untrustworthy people.
The validation process should be conducted at the teachers’ work stations by inspectors of schools. This will save the teachers who are already validated the bother of appearing for yet another unpleasant and agonising process validation.
The Education Service Commission should be probed over alleged fraudulent recruitment process like it has been the case with government agencies. This is because these concerns have been aired out without anybody in authority showing concern.
If nothing is done, the education sector risks being infiltrated by unqualified personnel.
Nathan Kakson Twinomujuni,
[email protected]
