The Abia State Government has approved another phase of Teachers’ Recruitment Exercise with the aim of engaging more qualified candidates and building a robust data bank of trained educators to further equip the State’s Education Sector.
The State Commissioner for information, Prince Okey Kanu who made this public while briefing Newsmen on the outcome of this week’s Executive Council Meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti, said this would enable the State have a data bank of very qualified teachers to draw from when ever the need arises.
He said that the exercise is inevitable in view of the increasing pupils/ students enrollment in public schools occasioned by the compulsory free education policy of the state government in primary and junior secondary schools.
Prince Kanu said that the exercise which will hold in Aba, for Abia South , Umuahia for Abia Central and Ohafia for Abia North, will equally
the training of over 2,200 teachers between April 10 and 19 by the Education Reformation and Innovation Team (ERIT) across the three senatorial zones to improve teaching standards and student learning outcomes.
The information Commissioner further disclosed that the State Government has concluded the final selection phase of its Teachers’ Recruitment Exercise, which featured over 7,000 candidates who scored 45 percent and above and included special provisions for 180 persons with disabilities.
He said that candidates who scored between 40 and 44 percent were placed on a reserve list, to address the possible short falls that may arise due to absenteeism or disqualification.
Prince Kanu warned Principals and Heads of Schools who surreptitiously collect School Fees and levies from Students despite the State Government’s Free Education Policy for Primary and Junior Secondary Schools to desist from such unwholesome act.
Contributing, the Commissioner for Basic Education, Elder Goodluck Ubochi said that the upcoming recruitment will focus particularly on technical and vocational subjects, where teacher shortages are most acute pointing out that many individuals with expertise in areas like basic electricity and further mathematics lack formal teacher training, a challenge which he said that the Ministry is working to overcome.
The Commissioner clarified that the State Government’s free and compulsory education policy applies only to primary and junior secondary levels, from Primary 1 to JSS3 and explained that for Students in Senior Secondary Schools, a minimal fee of N3,300 is to be collected, as reduced from earlier tuition fees.
