31% of Sokoto teachers ‘unqualified, but trainable’

Thirty-one percent of teachers in public schools in Sokoto state are not qualified but educated enough to be trained to enhance their qualifications to be in the classroom, a government committee has uncovered.
Chairman of the Sokoto Government’s schools needs assessment committee, Dr. Shadi Sabeh, presenting the report of their committee to Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
In addition, the committee recommended the employment of additional 548 teachers in order to achieve a teacher/student ratio of 1:40, the standard set for public schools in the state.
This was part of the recommendations of the schools needs assessment sub-committee of the committee on state of emergency set up by Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to proffer practical solutions to challenges confronting education in the state.
Presenting the report at Government House, chairman of the sub-committee, Dr. Shadi Sabeh, said a total of 360 schools were assessed and that there is need for the government to urgently act to restructure the imbalance in teachers’ distribution especially between rural and urban areas.
“There’s need to repost 537 teachers from some schools that are over-staffed within the Sokoto metropolis to the many that are lacking teachers in rural areas,” he added.
Sabeh said lack of ICT infrastructure in schools is a cause for concern, especially because 73% of teachers surveyed lacked computer skills.
“Government must enforce compliance with Federal Government’s directives that all teachers must be registered with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). At the moment, only 14 percent of the teachers have the necessary registration.
“In general, there is an ardent and urgent need for a robust capacity building program that will close the training gap among teachers in the state. This is against the backdrop that 90% of teachers surveyed have not attended any form of training, workshop and seminar in the last three years” he stated.
In his remarks, Tambuwal assured that the report will be implemented, while other measures will be put in place to ensure turn around in the fortunes of the sector.
He said a new training schedule will be drawn up by the government to ensure all teachers are provided with opportunities for refresher courses.
“Let me repeat it here that no teacher will be sacked from government employ. We will retrain them to update their knowledge. Those who at the end prove untrainable will be moved to other parts of the civil service where their expertise will be required.
“I want to commend the members of the sub-committee for a diligent job. The people and government of Sokoto state will forever be proud of your service,” he added.