Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State on Thursday expressed worry over the dearth of quality teachers in the state, particularly in basic education...
El-Rufai
told the National Assembly House Committee on Basic Education in Kaduna
that some teachers scored zero in a recent proficiency test conducted
for primary school teachers in the state.
Represented by his Deputy, Barnabas Bantex, the governor blamed the ugly trend on the politicization of teachers employment in the state.
“We
set the examination based on primary four curriculum and pegged 75 per
cent as pass mark, but the highest was 45 per cent with a reasonable
number with zero.
“One should
not be surprised because, over time, the state has politicised
employment into the teaching profession, and by so doing mortgaged the
future of our children, “he said.
He,
however, said that the state government had already taken measures to
correct the anomalies and rid the school of unqualified teachers.
“This
is because ensuring adequate quality teachers at the basic level is the
foundation upon which our educational development will be built, “he said.
The
governor added that in addressing the massive infrastructural deficit
in primary schools, the government would soon embark on storey building
structures in schools across the state.
“A company has already been engaged, we are only waiting for certain funds to commence construction, “he said.
He,
however, appealed to the committee to assist the state in mobilising
educational grant to enable it provide the much needed basic
infrastructure in schools.
Earlier, the leader of the committee, Mr Istifanus Gyang,
representing Barikin Ladi/Royom Federal Constituency, Plateau State,
explained that the committee was in the state for an oversight function.
He
explained that the committee was in the state to assess the access and
utilisation of Universal Basic Education Commission intervention funds
as appropriated by the National Assembly.
He
noted that the committee’s interaction with state basic education board
revealed that the state needed N93 billion to address the
infrastructural deficit in primary schools.
“We
equally learnt that the state has only 33,000 classrooms in its primary
schools and need additional 24,000; has 37,004 teachers and need about
25,000 more.
He expressed worry over
the poor global rating of educational development in the country,
particularly northern part of the country.
According
to him, government at all levels has the responsibility of ensuring
that people are properly educated for sustainable development.
“I
therefore urged you to utilised the UBEC capital grant for 2015 and
2016 intervention already accessed to improve the learning environment
of pupils.
“I understood that
the implementation of the fund was put on hold to enable your government
align the UBEC interventions with your vision. I believed that that has
been sorted out, “he said.
He nonetheless commended the state for being up to date in accessing UBEC funds.
He
also described the state as a near model in terms of community
engagement and participation in developing and maintaining school
infrastructure.
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