By Adaeze Lawrence
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has indicated that his administration will soon embark on the authentication of all primary school teachers in the state.
Gov. Tambuwal stated this on Thursday while distributing instructional materials to the 23 local government education departments in the state held at the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) headquarters in Sokoto.
According to him, the verification exercise is to ascertain the number of authentic teachers in primary schools across the state.
In the same stride, the state government, he assured would also use the money saved from the exercise to recruit more teachers and pay attention to other welfare needs of the teachers.
Tambuwal further maintained that the state government is paying the regular pension of primary school teachers, pledging that very soon the government will pay gratuity to those who have retired.
Tambuwal also said that the state government would send a bill to the state House of Assembly for the increment of years of service of teachers from 60 to 65 years.
On girl-child education, the governor said his administration is giving much priority to the improvement of their education in the state, pointing out that the government is still giving tokens to parents to encourage them to promote the education of the girl child.
In this regard, the governor also said work on the construction of a Government Girls Science Academy at Kasarawa, a suburb of the state capital, has reached an advanced stage of completion, to improve the education of girls in the state.
On the distribution of instructional materials, Tambuwal said the State Government will not relent in its effort to provide a conducive atmosphere for learning in schools, saying that since the inception of his administration, millions of Naira worth of learning materials have been distributed to schools, especially at the basic and secondary levels.
While reiterating that the responsibility of education does not rely on the government alone, the Governor reminded that it requires the contribution of everyone, including communities, the private sector, development partners and philanthropists in the society.
He expressed the appreciation of the State Government to the Sultan of Sokoto, international development partners, especially UNICEF, USAID, UNPA, and Plan International for their support of education in Sokoto State. “Your partnership is indeed critical to addressing challenges and recording success in the sector,” he said.
In his remarks, the state commissioner for basic and secondary education, Muhammad Bello Abubakar, explained that the instruction materials were procured by the Sokoto state government to improve learning and teaching in schools.
In his address, the Chairman of SUBEB, Alhaji Altine Shehu Kajiji, said the state government has paid all its marching grants and counterpart funds due to UBEC and other stakeholders, including that of 2022.
In his address, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’adu Abubakar represented by Wazirin Sokoto, Prof. Sambo Wali Junaid commended the effort of the state government for giving priority to education.
In their separate goodwill messages, the representatives of UNICEF and UBEC applauded the effort of the state government for giving the desired attention to education and also settling all the outstanding matching grants.