Owing to the deplorable condition of education at the public primary schools nation wide, Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris has pledged to reintroduce Teachers’ Training Colleges in the state to restore quality of teaching and learning.
Consequently, the government will convene a forum of experts and professionals to chart the best course of action for the take off of the colleges.
Governor Idris dropped this hint on Tuesday at the venue of the training workshop for 1,200 primary school teachers at the Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic, auditorium, Birnin-Kebbi.
He described scrapping of teachers colleges in the country as a mistake that affected the quality of teaching and methodology because teachers trained in such schools were best equipped with requisite know how to impart knowledge into pupils.
Idris announced that his administration would establish two teachers colleges to start, one each for males and females.
He reaffirmed commitment to the resuscitation of education sector through infrastructural development of schools, training and retraining of teachers including improvement of their welfare, provision of furniture and instructional materials as well as providing conducive environment for learning.
He was emphatic that education remained the engine room for societal development, adding that the poor result scored by students in public examination in the state would be reversed.
“I am a teacher, I understand the problems of teaching, I was also a student, I know the challenges of studying. I have taken measures to redress the situation in the education sector.
“Education must be a priority. No responsible government will toy with the issue of knowledge. I assumed leadership with three things as priorities, condition of teachers, problem of out of school children and poor results of students in examination, all of which I am determined to addresses, as i have declared a revolution on education sector in Kebbi state.”
The governor informed the gathering that in addition to stipend approved for the 1,200 participants, he would in his private capacity give each teacher attending the training workshop thirty thousand naira, making a total of N36 million.
Idris commended the Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic for its excellent academic record, saying that he studied in the institution which also produced uncountable number of professionals in all fields both within and outside Kebbi state.
The Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr. Usman Sani Tunga, announced that the training workshop for primary school teachers was sponsored by the state government on the approval of Governor Idris and organised by the consultancy services of the Polytechnic.
He said six centres comprising Birnin Kebbi, Argungu, Yauri, Zuru, Jega and Bunza, would simultaneously train 400 teachers in each centre, staggered into two sessions for a total of four weeks in English, Mathematics, Methodology and other various subjects under the guidance of professional resource persons.
In a remark, the Executive Chairman of Kebbi State Universal Basic Education Board, Professor Suleiman Khalid Jega reviewed the monumental achievement of Governor Nasir Idris on revamping basic education in the state and the amount of money expended.
Khalid also provided statistics about the total number of primary schools, junior secondary schools and teachers under the board.
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