A fresh dispute has broken out between the Osun State Government and a federal lawmaker, Oluwole Oke, over claims that a plan to recruit part-time teachers for public schools was stopped. Oke, who represents Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, alleged that a proposal to engage about 700 teachers was halted by the state government, affecting schools facing serious staff shortages.

The Osun State Government has rejected the allegation, saying it has no record of stopping any such recruitment. Speaking on the issue, the Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, said the ministry was not aware of any formal arrangement to recruit teachers under the lawmaker’s initiative. He insisted that no instruction was given by the government to halt any exercise and added that part-time teachers already exist in schools through Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs).

Eluwole described the claim as politically motivated, saying, “Nobody stopped anything. There are PTA teachers everywhere.” According to him, the lawmaker may be trying to gain political attention with the allegation. The government maintained that any official recruitment into public schools must follow laid-down procedures and involve the relevant state authorities.

On his part, Oke stood by his claim, explaining that the recruitment was meant to be a temporary intervention under his Education Trust Fund. He said it was designed to address urgent manpower gaps in core subjects, especially in overcrowded schools in Ijesa North. Oke added that applications had already been invited and screening planned before the exercise was suddenly discontinued, alleging that the state later announced its own teachers’ recruitment shortly after.