THE quality of candidates passing the screening process for various teaching positions leaves a lot to be desired, the government has declared.

George Simbachawene, the Public Service Management and Good Governance state minister in the President’s Office, made this observation at a meeting with heads of public institutions here yesterday, citing the disturbing trend of applicants without teaching qualifications successfully navigating the selection process.

Underscoring the importance of rigorous screening and proper vetting when recruiting public servants, he said the candidates were vetted despite the clear need for qualified personnel in key sectors like education.

He emphasized the need to ensure that only suitably qualified individuals are appointed to serve in teaching positions as professionalism is a crucial parameter for good output.

“I am perplexed by how some individuals managed to pass the screening process without having the required qualifications. These candidates are not even trained teachers, yet they make it through. This is an issue we must address,” the minister said, in exasperation.

He cited a case where a job applicant scored highly on a written exam and later performed poorly on oral tests related to classroom knowledge, and was even then still able to pass certain stages of the recruitment process.

He also raised concern about the possibility that some current employees in the sector may not be qualified for their roles, citing an incident where a candidate was rejected after background data showed he lacked the proper teaching qualification, despite having worked as a teacher in the past.

Reiterating the government’s commitment to ensuring that recruitment processes are merit-based, transparent and adhere to established guidelines, he said that these efforts are essential for improving efficiency in public services.

The government recently approved the recruitment of 45,080 employees across various sectors, including 10,590 teachers, where the minister stated that significant improvements had been made to recruitment procedures to ensure that only qualified candidates are hired. 

The recruitment system must be fair and competitive, ensuring that candidates are selected based on merit, not favouritism, he said, urging for more contract-based employment in the public sector to address the current shortage of workers in critical areas.

Heads of institutions need to consider opening up such roles to help improve public service delivery and create more job opportunities for graduates, he said, affirming that contract-based positions can help fill the gaps in the public service.

It is important that these positions are advertised publicly and filled through a competitive process, he emphasised, raising expectations on March 10 meeting with the National Unemployed Teachers’ Organisation (NETO) to discuss challenges faced by job-seeking teachers and explore potential solutions.

 “We need to listen to the concerns of young people, especially those seeking employment in the teaching profession,’ he said, pointing at the need to “understand their challenges and work together towards finding solutions.” 

Deus Sangu, the deputy minister, addressed issues related to delays in the recruitment process, saying negligence and exploitation of the system for personal gain caused problems.

Some employment authorities with salary arrears have been using the gap to punish public servants who do not pay something for their demands to be cleared, an anomaly which affects service delivery, he said, assuring the public that the government is actively addressing the challenges.

“We are aware of the backlogs and will tackle the issues to ensure that recruitment is carried out efficiently and transparently,” he stated.

Juma Mkomi, the permanent secretary, noted that the failure to follow established recruitment procedures has led to inefficiencies in public service. This ultimately affects service delivery to citizens, he added.