Abia State government has taken decision to find lasting solution to the shortage of teachers, which has lingered in the school system for years.
To this end, no fewer than 2,500 teachers have been earmarked for recruitment into the basic and post-basic schools in Abia State to fill the vacuums created in the classrooms due to the insufficient number of teachers.
The State Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu announced the forthcoming massive recruitment of teachers while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the meeting of the State Executive Council held on Monday January 29, 2025.
He said that arrangements have been concluded to employ teachers to fill the existing vacancies in the schools, adding that after the first phase of the recruitment exercise, subsequent recruitment would follow until adequacy of teachers is sustainably achieved.
Kanu stated that the approval by SEC to embark on “massive employment of teachers in the state is another pointer to how important this sector is to the Governor”, adding that plans had been concluded for the exercise to commence.
He affirmed that the implementation of the out-of-school children policy has started with the commencement of the second term of the 2024/2025 academic session as earlier announced.
Kanu stated that “the Abia state Ministry of Basic Education has fully commenced the enforcement of our Out of School Children Policy initiative with the appointment of Education Marshalls”.
He said that the school marshals have been appointed to work with the harmonized taskforce to enforce the policy.
According to him, with the commencement of free and compulsory education for pupils and students at the basic education level, there was need to ensure the out of school children policy was made effective.
The information Commissioner also announced the introduction of mathematics clinics for students in examination classes of JSS 3 and SS3 which would run from Tuesday to Thursday of every week between the hours of 7.00am and 7:45.00 am.
He explained that the mathematics clinics was needed “to strengthen (the STEM) programme for our schools” in line with policy of the present administration.
“Mathematics, we know, is very basic to the realisation of the STEM subjects. STEM subjects involve science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and mathematics is the bedrock for the development of science and technology,” Kanu stated.
Elaborating on the policy initiatives in the education sector, the Commissioner for Basic Education, Elder Goodluck Ubochi said that quality education could not be achieved without teachers.
“There is no way we can talk about quality education without teachers. In our schools we don’t have sufficient number of teachers to handle most of the subjects,” he said.
Ubochi stated that the official announcement on recruitment of teachers has now put to rest speculations that had been “all over the place about employment of teachers”.
He said modalities for the recruitment exercise would be made public within the week, adding that it would a process of online application.
On the enforcement of the free education policy, Ubochi said that the education marshals would “work like taskforce but not in the same modality”, adding that they would move around during school hours.
“Any child that is of school age seen around will be picked up, not to be beaten or embarrassed but be taken to the school nearest to him or her.
“But before he or she is taken to the school, we will use the child to locate the parents or guardians or whoever has been keeping the child and we will be able to find out why he is holding back the child from going to school,” he explained.
The Basic Education Commissioner announced that school hours in Abia has been extended from 2.00pm to 4.00pm to make room for other science subjects such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry and English language that mathematic clinic encroached on their periods.