By Modupe Gbadeyanka
About 545 applicants with various forms of disability will be interviewed by the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (OyoSUBEB) between September 10 and 11, 2024.
From September 12 to 13, 2024, it will be the turn of caregivers, the Chairman of OyoSUBEB, Mr Nureni Adeniran, stated during a visit by the Oyo State Agency for People With Disabilities led by the Director-General, Mr Ayodele Adekanmbi.
The visitor explained that the visitation was to conclude arrangements towards the forthcoming interview exercise for its members.
Mr Adeniran said candidates from Oke-ogun, Ibarapa, Ogbomoso and Oyo would be interviewed on September 10, 2024, while candidates from Ibadan main city and Ibadan less city would have theirs the next day.
The board’s chief expressed the commitment to implement a reasonable employment quota for people living with disabilities in the ongoing recruitment exercise, noting that though the organisation is constrained by other criteria for recruitment such as merit, gender, Local government spread, etc, the welfare of those with disabilities is key to the present administration.
“The board is committed to prioritizing persons with disabilities and will continue to do so.
“We have enough special schools for them to teach. There are 22 special basic schools across the 3 senatorial districts in Oyo State.
“The administration of Governor Seyi Makinde is committed to making life better for them without any form of discrimination or rejection,” he stated.
Also speaking, Mr Adekanmbi applauded OyoSUBEB for implementing an all-inclusive exercise, aimed at strengthening the workforce of the state, saying with the assistance of the board, arrangements have been made for the visually impaired in the areas of providing brailed question papers and tools required by them to participate in the interview independently.
The DG said the inclusion of his agency by the board has encouraged full participation and inclusion of PWDs in the recruitment of teachers, while it has also increased awareness of disability rights and issues across the board.
He also applauded the state government for some of its achievements towards inclusion such as the passage and signing of the State Disability Law, which established the Agency for People With Disabilities.
“To make the arrangements easy, the candidates will be divided into three clusters: blind, deaf and the physically disabled,” Mr Adekanmbi stated.
