Pulse.ng : PLANE urges KDSG to employ qualified teachers to address leaning gaps in LGAs

PLANE urges KDSG to employ qualified teachers to address leaning gaps in LGAs

Diana Agabi, the Team Lead of PLANE in Kaduna, making a presentation to the stakeholders on their quarterly progress update

By Sani Idris

Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE), has urged the Kaduna State Government to employ qualified teachers to address learning gaps in the state’s LGAs.

PLANE also wants the state government to come up with effective structures for monitoring teachers at schools’ levels in the LGAs.

The State Team Lead of PLANE, Diana Agabi, made the call at a quarterly review meeting on Monday in Kaduna.

Agabi lamented that many teachers at LGA level abscond from school and engage in other activities at the expense of the learners’ education.

“There is a need for a monitoring committee to track what the teachers are doing,”she said.

She equally said that parents, communities and School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs) must visit schools to see whether their children and teachers were all in school for teaching and learning purposes.

Agabi said where the SBMCs and parents discovered the teachers not where they should be, they should take actions by flagging up to the management.

She said that Kaduna state, which has four working days, needed to be utilised effectively by the teachers to ensure that learners get the best from the week.

According to her, for a child to learn, he or she needs at least five hours daily interaction with a teacher, where a gap is presented if the teacher absconds from his duty for a long time.

The team lead explained that as a programme, PLANE usually gives updates to the state on its support to the basic education sector.

Agabi said the review meeting focussed on PLANE’s year three, first quarter activities implemented from September to November.

She explained that at the review meeting, PLANE gives feedback to the stakeholders while highlighting some of the challenges they identified and discuss actions to address them.

“The key challenges we identified for this quarter are shortage of teachers in some of the schools in rural LGAs in the state and low attendance of the teachers and learners at the school level.

“The reasons may be economic factors and transfer of teachers from one LGA to another without replacement where they left.

“The meeting will foster dialogue and collaboration between stakeholders to refine approaches and develop actionable plans that strengthen community engagement in learning activities,”she said.

Earlier, the acting Director, Social Mobilisation, Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (KADSUBEB), Mr Kabir Lawal, appreciated PLANE’s efforts in supporting Kaduna State’s basic education sector.

Lawal acknowledged the need for effective teacher monitoring structures and community engagement to address the challenges, adding that SUBEB would work closely with stakeholders to refine approaches and develop actionable plans.

He restated SUBEB’s commitment to strengthening the state’s basic education system and ensuring that all learners receive quality education, regardless of their location or socio-economic background.

Lawal also stated that the state government was committed to teachers welfare which translates to the timely payment of their salaries.

“To the best of my knowledge, salaries are being paid as at when due.

”The only thing we are waiting for is the implementation of the minimum wage which is to be implemented by the LGEAs,”Lawal said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that stakeholders in the meeting were Education Secretaries, SBMSc and the Save the Children International (SCI), among others.(NAN)