Akinade Alamu, the Oyo post-primary Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM)’s chairman, says the ongoing data capturing of newly-recruited teachers is not to persecute Muslims.

The chairman made the clarification in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Alamu, while reacting to the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) objection to hold the exercise on Monday and Tuesday on the grounds that the two days were Sallah holidays, stated that the exercise had been fixed long before the holidays were announced.

He also stated that the exercise was an ongoing process, not meant to punish anybody and added that it was to entrench transparency and accountability in the state’s recruitment procedures.

“It is important to place on record that the ongoing screening exercise is not intended to deny our Muslim brothers and sisters the benefit of enjoying the Sallah break declared by the federal government,” the statement said. “We had originally designed that the exercise would hold all through the weekend but had to suspend the same on Saturday and Sunday in view of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.”

According to Mr Alamu, the exercise is for all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that conducted recruitment since the beginning of Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration.

“And a provision had been made for the rescheduling of the exercise so that all new employees would be captured. The rescheduling was to be arranged by the ministry of finance and the MDAs,” he added. 

(NAN)