The Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, has said the Federal Government will recruit 3,500 teachers for its Unity Colleges.
He said the recruitment would improve the country’s quality of education.
Sununu spoke at a two-day national stakeholders’ forum on Senior Secondary Education in Nigeria, with the theme: Revitalising Senior Secondary Education in Nigeria for Global Competitiveness, organised by the National Senior Secondary Education Commission.
He said: “I want to assure you that the ministry is currently collaborating with the Office of the Head of Service, the Federal Civil Service Commission, and other relevant government organs to recruit 3,500 teaching staff in the Federal Ministry of Education.
“This will be for the utilisation of our various Federal Government colleges nationwide. It will go a long way in improving the quality of education.
“Not only that but also as part of our project, the ministry has organised extensive training and retraining of all workers in schools.”
Sununu also said the ministry had trained over 1,000 workers in the application of technology to education through its research resource centre.
The minister said the government had built more than 53 vocational skills acquisition centres to cater for the skills today’s youths need.
He said this was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Sununu also said the ministry had got approval to build additional 50 model schools across the country to enhance teaching and learning.
He said: “The ability to revitalise the Senior Secondary Education sub-sector to meet global demands is not merely a function of the mind but also a function of key actions that optimise the system.
“Today marks a significant step in our journey to enhance the quality of education for our young learners.
“Senior Secondary Education is a critical phase, shaping the future of our learners and, by extension, our nation.”
“This explains our efforts in ensuring that our education system is robust, dynamic, and capable of meeting global standard.”
The Executive Secretary of the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), Dr. Iyela Ajayi, stressed the need for stakeholders to take ownership of the national policy on senior secondary education and its implementation guidelines.
House of Representative Speaker Tajudeen Abbas called for total overhaul of senior secondary curriculum to meet global competitiveness.
Abbas, who was represented by the Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education and Services, Mark Usani, highlighted some challenges senior secondary education faced in the country.
The challenges, he said, include lack of qualified teachers, funding, and inadequate infrastructure.
By Frank Ikpefan
