By Precious Ajimuda  & Rukayat Shittu

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Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board (ODSUBEB) is set to conduct physical interviews for over eight thousand applicants who passed the Computer Based Test to teach in the public primary schools across the state.

The exercise designed to pick the best-qualified candidates commences on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

According to the Executive Chairman of the Board, Victor Olabimtan, contrary to the public outcry that greeted the recently released list of successful applicants who passed the qualifying examinations for the job, the exercise is to select the best-suited candidates out of those invited for the interviews.

In a release signed by ODSUBEB Director of Information and Public Relations, Prince Bolu Diesel Ajijo, to reduce the stress of applicants from far-flung areas of the state, the Board has decided to conduct the interview close to their bases at a center in each of the Federal Constituencies in the state.

The Board also divided the panel to conduct the physical interviews into three teams, and each team will handle the exercise at the headquarters of one of the local government areas in the federal constituency chosen for the interview.

For the purposes of this exercise, each applicant is expected to bring all original certificates, including birth and primary six certificates, to the venue of the exercise.

Olabimtan, who appreciated the State Governor, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, for approving the recruitment of 1000 teachers for primary and secondary schools each, said the move will go a long way in bridging the avoidable gap between the quality of education received by pupils/students in rural and urban areas, respectively.

The former Ondo House of Assembly Speaker noted that some of the reasons that informed the ongoing exercise are to fill existing critical vacancies in our public primary schools and address the menace of out-of-school children in our state.

Olabimtan added that if the issue of disparity in the quality of education received by children in rural areas and those in urban areas is not addressed, it will be a time bomb that will do no one any good in the near future.

The interview panels put in place by the Board comprise top technocrats from relevant MDAs such as the Education Ministry, Civil Service Commission, Establishment, Service Matters, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, ODSUBEB, and the office of the Accountant General of the State.

The interview will commence on Tuesday, June 25, from the six local government areas of Ondo North Senatorial District, Wednesday in the six LGAs in Ondo South Senatorial District, and Thursday in Ondo Central.

The physical interviews will commence at the chosen centers in each of the Federal Constituencies by 9 a.m.

Applicants are advised to arrive early and be orderly to ensure a smooth exercise.