The Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum, has approved N1 billion for the training of basic-level teachers across the 27 local government areas of the state.
Zulum announced the approval while inaugurating the newly appointed local government education secretaries in Maiduguri on Tuesday.
According to Zulum, the new appointees will administer the affairs of primary education in their respective LGAs.
The governor noted that over 1,000 teachers who have O-Level certificates as their highest qualification will undergo additional training that would allow them to attain minimum teaching qualifications.
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He said the training would cover teachers who do not have teaching qualifications but were found to be trainable based on the record of the competency test conducted.
Zulum noted that his administration in 2019, when sworn in, embarked on rebuilding the devastated school infrastructures to provide enhanced learning outcomes which he said had resulted in dropping the number of out-of-school children to 800,000 from over two million.
The governor charged the newly appointed education secretaries to live up to expectations and warned that anyone found to be underperforming would be replaced.
“I must emphasise that with great privilege comes great responsibility. Therefore, I have directed the Honorable Commissioner for Education to furnish me with quarterly reports on the performance of each education secretary. Those failing to meet expectations will be replaced,” Zulum said.
The governor also allocated 58 utility vehicles to the education secretaries, with each receiving one Toyota Hilux double-cabin 4-wheel-drive pickup truck and one Volkswagen Golf 3 wagons.
He said the utility vehicles were meant to enhance mobility, while warning that they should only be used for official purposes and be operated by authorized drivers.
Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Engr Lawan Abba Wakilbe, stated that to select competent and qualified people for the role of education secretary, the advertisement was issued in December, and about 126 individuals applied.
