Sokoto State Government has announced the immediate employment of 500 teachers to address the shortfall in teaching personnel in public secondary schools in the state.
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said this Thursday when he received a UNICEF delegation, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
In addition to the employment, he disclosed that in the coming days, the state government would sign a memorandum of understanding with the National Teachers Institute (NTI) to train teachers of basic education in the state.
Tambuwal said by according education the highest priority, his administration would do all that was necessary to improve the sector and secure the future of the citizens of the state.
On girl-child education, Tambuwal expressed worry over the low enrollment figures of girls in school, saying he will personally lead the advocacy for girls to be admitted into schools.
He said Sokoto had a history of producing females who have made their mark in the education field, citing the example of Nana Asmau, daughter of Sheikh Usman Danfodio and the present Chief Justice of the State, Justice Aisha Sani Dahiru.
“Nana Asmau was a scholar, a teacher and a writer. She was well-educated and authored many books on family values and other social issues. As regards to education, we in Sokoto have a certain standard set by forefathers. As conservative as we are, we have a female Chief Judge, that good for our education.
“Let me admit that the advent of colonialism made many here to be reluctant to embrace western education. However, since we have all agreed that western education is necessary for our lives at this point in time, we are determined to benefit from its teachings without necessarily jettisoning our cultural values.
”So, everything will be done to ensure our girls are in school. We are very determined to improve on our enrolment statistics. Both intake and quality of teaching will be adequately taken care of,” the Governor said.
In his remarks, the Sokoto Field officer of UNICEF, Mr. Muhammed Muhiddeen urged Tambuwal to establish pre-primary classes in all primary schools in Sokoto state as part of its commitment to basic education.
He also urged the government to increase the number of female teachers and female administrators in public schools and education agencies by at least 30 percent.
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