Online Reporter
Trust Freddy
Herald Correspondent
THE Public Service Commission has dismissed allegations of corruption, nepotism and favouritism in teacher recruitment, insisting that appointments are made on merit, availability of posts and Government policy, not on the order of registration.
In a statement issued yesterday, the PSC said it was committed to ensuring that all recruitment and placement processes were conducted in accordance with established regulations and principles of fairness, transparency and equal opportunity.
“The commission does not condone, and will not tolerate, corruption, favouritism, nepotism, manipulation of recruitment processes, bribery or abuse of public office for personal benefit,” PSC said.
PSC said qualified teachers awaiting deployment must register on the Human Resources Information Management System, which captures date of completion of training, area of specialisation, province of preference and other details.
However, the commission stressed that registration should not be misconstrued as appointment or entitlement to immediate placement.
PSC said recruitment was done against available vacancies using approved criteria, which include year of completion of training, qualifications, area of specialisation, subject needs, geographical preferences and staffing requirements in hard-to-reach areas.
The commission cited the example of secondary trained teachers in practical subjects.
“For example, absorption of secondary-trained teachers for practical subjects like Music and PE (Physical Education) has been very slow because few schools offer these subjects. As a result, a candidate who registered later may be placed ahead of an earlier registrant without this constituting evidence of corruption.”
To address staffing shortages in outlying districts, PSC said it applied a five-tier preference order.
“First preference is given to candidates who did both primary and secondary education in the affected district. Second preference is for those attended either primary or secondary schools in the affected district.
“Third preference goes to candidates whose identity document numbers match the district code. Fourth is for candidates who are resident in the affected district by marriage or relocation, while fifth preference is for candidates who are prepared to work in the affected district,” read the statement.
