The Borno state government is to set up four vocational centres with the recruitment of 3,000 teachers in the next two years. The vocational centres are sited in Maiduguri, Mafa, Magumeri and Kwaya/Kusar to graduate 6,000 to 8,000 unemployed youths. According to him, the Government of Morocco is to establish a vocational school in Maiduguri at the cost of N4 billion. These were made known at the weekend by Governor Babagana Zulum to mark Democracy Day and two years anniversary in Maiduguri, the state capital. “Up till now our primary education system is in comatose, whether we like it or not,” he said.
He noted that during the six-month teachers’ verification exercise, the committee was able to save N450 million from ghost teachers. He therefore assured the people that before the end of this year, 3,000 teachers will be engaged. “We shall do everything possible to ensure that qualified teachers are recruited into the primary education system,” he said. He added that this will enable children of the less privileged to send their children and wards to primary schools.
While lamenting poor primary education, he said: “Most of the primary school teachers in Mafa, Monguno, Nganzai and others could not spell and write their names correctly.“This is despite their National Certificate of Education (NCE) minimum qualifications to teach children,” noting that there is nothing to write home about education in the state. He said that those teachers that are not qualified are to go back to school.
