9,000 Graduates Jostle For 500 Teaching Jobs In Jigawa

More than 9,000 graduates and holders of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) have expressed interest in 500 teaching positions under the Jigawa State Government’s J-Tsangaya programme.

The recruitment exercise has moved to the Computer-Based Test stage, with shortlisted candidates taking the examination across centres in Dutse, Hadejia and Gumel.

The Executive Secretary of the Jigawa State Tsangaya Education Board, Abubakar Maje, disclosed this on Sunday while inspecting some of the CBT centres.

Maje said 3,150 applicants were shortlisted to participate in the test, from which 500 successful candidates would eventually be recruited.

He explained that the recruitment was designed to support the state’s Almajiri Free Zone Programme, which seeks to bring more than 5,000 Almajirai into a structured education system.

Under the initiative, children in Tsangaya schools will receive Qur’anic education alongside conventional subjects and vocational training.

Maje said the approach was aimed at preserving the traditional Tsangaya system while providing children with broader educational opportunities and reducing street begging.

The programme will also provide beneficiaries with accommodation, healthcare and skills training to improve their chances of becoming self-reliant.

Three mega Tsangaya schools have been designated in Dutse, Kafin Hausa and Ringim, with each facility expected to accommodate about 1,500 pupils.

The pupils will study subjects including English, Mathematics, Basic Science and Computer Studies in addition to Qur’anic education, while vocational courses will prepare them for employment and entrepreneurship.

According to Maje, the 500 teachers to be recruited will be divided between conventional subjects and Qur’anic education under the revised Tsangaya curriculum.

He said Jigawa currently has 5,481 traditional Tsangaya schools, 130 integrated Tsangaya schools, seven modern Tsangaya schools and three mega Tsangaya schools.

Some candidates who participated in the CBT described the exercise as orderly and transparent but appealed to the government to increase the number of available positions.

One of the candidates, Musa Ibrahim, said the number of applicants warranted an expansion of the recruitment to 1,000 teachers.

A candidate in Hadejia, Aisha Bala, also called for more positions, citing the large number of applicants and prevailing economic difficulties.

Community members equally welcomed the initiative but urged the government to establish more mega Tsangaya schools across other local government areas.

A community leader in Gumel, Sani Adamu, said expanding the programme would enable more Almajirai to benefit from the combination of religious education, formal learning and vocational training.

The J-Tsangaya initiative is part of the state’s broader efforts to address out-of-school children and integrate non-formal education into a more structured system.