Abia govt moves to secure public schools

The Abia State Government (ABSG) has finalized plans to deploy security personnel to public schools across the state as part of efforts to safeguard lives and property.

This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, during a press briefing at Government House on the outcome of this week’s executive council meeting, presided over by Governor Alex Otti.

He stated, “This is part of the wider agenda of the state government to reform our education system.

As part of the ongoing reform, the promise that the state government has made in the past has come to fulfillment with the posting of security personnel to our schools.

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The aim is to secure the lives and property of both students and teachers, as well as the property of the schools.”

Prince Kanu also revealed that the state government has embarked on training 2,000 master trainers for teachers in Abia.

Of this number, 200 teachers have already completed their training, while the remaining 1,800 will undergo theirs soon.

He further announced that schools would reopen on September 16, 2024, and that the Abia State Basic Education Board (ASUBEB) has screened, interviewed, and shortlisted 40 teachers for training under the Abia State School Enhancement Team Program, a quality assurance initiative in preparation for the resumption.

The Commissioner also noted that 5,746 ASUBEB staff have been earmarked for promotion, explaining that this move is intended to motivate staff for greater productivity.

Under the Abia State School Enhancement Team program, Kanu said, “The board has screened 40 individuals to ensure quality assurance and compliance with school guidelines.”

He also announced that the state government would soon commission the newly upgraded eye center, an annex of the Abia Specialist Hospital at Amachara.

“The facility will be opened for the eye healthcare of Ndi Abia and residents.

The commissioning of the project underscores the premium the government places on the healthcare of Abians,” he said, adding that a panel of experts has been constituted to oversee the upgrade of the state’s eight Schools of Nursing into a unified College of Nursing Sciences.

“All eight Nursing schools will merge, with one serving as the main campus for the College of Nursing Sciences. This move aims to enhance the qualification and production of top-grade nurses in the state,” Prince Kanu explained.

Contributing, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Dr. Kenechukwu Nwosu, said the state is currently mapping out all schools in line with security needs assessments and is considering fencing the schools.

“We know that our schools have long suffered from issues of vandalism, hence the deployment of the Abia Vigilante Services (AVS) to schools.

This first phase will not only cover Umuahia but will also expand to Aba and other parts of the state as the AVS builds the required capacity.”

Also speaking, the Chairman of Abia State Universal Basic Education, ASUBEB, Lady Lydia Onuoha, stated that the government has carefully selected the teachers who will benefit from the planned trainings.

She added that the training centers have been divided into five zones, with participants selected from across the state’s 17 LGAs.

Onuoha emphasized that the Abia State School Enhancement Team will act as the government’s eyes in schools to ensure compliance with the government’s educational plans.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE