The Kano State Government has dismissed claims that persons with disabilities were excluded from the ongoing teachers’ recruitment exercise, describing the allegations as false and misleading.
The denial was contained in a rejoinder issued by the Kano State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in response to a statement by the Kano State Initiative for Persons with Special Needs.
In the statement signed by SUBEB’s Director of Corporate Communications, Balarabe Danlami Jazuli, the board said the inclusion of qualified persons with disabilities remained a core policy and long-standing practice in its recruitment processes.
Jazuli noted that over the years, SUBEB had recruited qualified persons with disabilities and deployed them appropriately, including to special education schools across the state.
He acknowledged that in some special needs schools, the number of teachers currently exceeded pupil enrolment but stressed that this had never been used as a basis to deny employment to any qualified applicant with a disability.
On accessibility, he said reasonable accommodations were provided during the most recent recruitment examinations to ensure fairness and equal opportunity.
According to him, visually impaired candidates were permitted to sit for the examination with assistants, a move he said contradicted allegations of discrimination or informal screening.
The SUBEB spokesperson reaffirmed the board’s recognition of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, and the Kano State Persons with Disabilities Law.
However, he clarified that the implementation of employment quotas was guided by available vacancies, job relevance, and operational realities, noting that the law does not mandate automatic recruitment irrespective of workforce balance or role suitability.
Jazuli further explained that recruitment across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) was decentralised, adding that SUBEB could only recruit within its statutory mandate, while other MDAs conducted their recruitment independently.
While reiterating that the rights of persons with disabilities were protected by law, he cautioned that such rights must be exercised with responsibility and professionalism, warning that absenteeism and prolonged non-official engagements could undermine service delivery.
He urged persons with special needs to pursue their legitimate interests through unity and constructive engagement, noting that internal divisions weakened advocacy efforts.
Prospective applicants were advised to submit their details through their respective Local Government Education Authorities or appropriate local government structures in line with established guidelines.
Khadijah Aliyu
