USAID to train 5000 primary school teachers in Gombe, Adamawa

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Friday said it will train 5000 primary school teachers and provide instructional materials to 200 schools in Gombe and Adamawa states to boost the education sector.

The State Team Leader of the project, Isyaku Babayo disclosed this when he paid a courtesy call on Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya.

He said the programme titled “Strengthening Education in North East Nigeria (SENSE)”, is a three-year USAID-funded project aimed at developing the capacity of 5000 primary school teachers to deliver quality basic education in pilot states of Gombe and Adamawa.

“The project which was launched in March, hopes to increase the capacity of education managers to use data for informed decision making and hopes to provide instructional materials to 200 schools and improve learning outcomes of 200, 000 pupils in the two states,” he said.

According to him, the training will include how to develop instructional materials from locally sourced materials within the communities.

Babayo added that the project which will be implemented in three phases, has started in six schools from three LGAs of Nafada, Akko and Shongom which were captured in the first phase of the project.

The state team leader added that the remaining eight LGAs will be cover in the second and third phases of the project respectively.

Responding, Governor Yahaya pledged to provide all the necessary support within the limit of available resources to ensure the success of the project.

He decried the deplorable state of the state’s education sector, particularly primary schools and commended the USAID for the project, adding that the education sector is one of the cardinal priorities of his administration.

He said: “Education is a powerful tool for change and we came into office with a mission for change and hope to our people. Therefore, we welcome all partnerships to improve the sector because without education, you cannot bring development and good governance to the people.”