Prof. Babagana Zulum, the governor of Borno State, approved N1 billion for basic-level teacher training across the state’s 27 local government areas.
Zulum revealed the approval Monday while inaugurating the newly appointed local government education secretary, who will be in charge of basic education in their respective areas.
The governor stated that approximately 1,000 teachers with O’Level certificates as their highest level will receive additional training to meet minimal teaching standards.
According to Zulum, the training will cover teachers who do not have teaching qualifications but have been identified as trainable based on the results of the competency exam.
Zulum noted that his administration in 2019, when sworn in, embarked on rebuilding the devastated school infrastructures to provide enhanced learning outcomes which he said has resulted in dropping the number of out-of-school children to eight hundred thousand from over two million.
The governor charged the newly appointed education secretaries to live up to expectations and warned that anyone found to be underperforming would be replaced.
He said: “I must emphasise that with great privilege comes great responsibility. Therefore, I have directed the Honorable Commissioner for Education to furnish me with quarterly reports on the performance of each education secretary. Those failing to meet expectations will be replaced.”
Meanwhile, Zulum, after inaugurating the education secretaries, allocated 58 utility vehicles, each receiving one Toyota Hilux double-cabin 4-wheel-drive pickup truck and one Volkswagen Golf 3 wagons.
The governor noted that the utility vehicles were meant to enhance mobility while warning that they should only be used for official purposes and be operated by authorised drivers.
Delivering his remarks, the Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr. Lawan Abba Wakilbe, stated that to select competent and qualified people for the role of education secretary, the advertisement was issued in December, and about 126 individuals applied.