FG allocates over N610m to 36 states to train teachers

THE Federal Government has said that over 610.5 million is allocated to the 36 states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja for the training of teachers in basic education.

Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi, who made this known in Abuja, said this represents 15 per cent of the intervention fund as approved by the Federal Government.

He said: “To ensure effective implementation of the Teacher Development Programme (TDP), the Federal Government allocates 15% of its intervention fund to support the conduct of training.

“For the conduct of the 2016 TDP programme, the Commission allocated the N165,000,000 to each state and FCT. The fund is released in two tranches of N82,500,000 each,” he said.

He explained that this was to ensure quality of Universal Basic Education (UBE) delivery through the conduct of regular capacity building programmes.

Bobboyi said the Teacher Development Programme was targeted at all teachers and education managers of the public Early Childhood Care and Development Education (ECCDE) Centres, primary and Junior Secondary schools in all states of the Federation and FCT.

He added that the process of procuring instructional materials using the 2017/2018 fund was ongoing.

He noted that under the free-book initiative of the Commission, about 7,323,991 core textbooks in Mathematics, English Language and Basic Science and Technology, Social Studies as well as Computer Studies for primaries 4-6.

He, however, said one of the challenges faced in the implementation of UBE programme, was the large number of unqualified teachers with low competence and teachers not adequately prepared for basic education during pre-service training serving in the system.

He also noted that there was the challenge of non-utilisation of instruction materials by some schools, saying findings reveals that some the books supplied are kept in Head teacher’s office.