By IHECHINYERE CHIGEMERI-UWOM

Abia Government has expressed its readiness to employ 2,500 teachers to address the shortage of teachers and ensure adequate staffing across primary and secondary schools in the state.

The Commissioner for Basic Education, Mr Goodluck Ubochi, made this known on Tuesday at a press conference on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting, in Umuahia.

Ubochi said that the initiative would serve as a veritable tool for improving the quality of education in the state.

?We are embarking on massive employment of teachers.

?We will employ 2,500 teachers to make sure we cover the gap that has being bothering us in the system.

?There is no way you can talk about quality education without teachers and in our schools we don?t have sufficient number of teachers to handle most of the subjects.

?People have been speculating that we heard you are employing teachers, within the week we are going to make public the modalities,? he said.

Ubochi said that applications for the job would be processed online to ensure transparency and accessibility.

He also said that the details about the application process would be made public by Friday.

Ubochi said: ?It is not going to be a process where you bring your application to the ministry or to anybody, because we are going to have a platform where you will do it online.

?So if you have people let them just keep their ears to the ground between now and Friday, the announcement would go forth?.

He said that the government had established a taskforce named ?Education Marshalls? to drive the enforcement of its Free and Compulsory Basic Education programme.

Ubochi said that the taskforce would ensure that all school-age children in the state would be in school during school hours.

According to him, children found loitering during school hours would be taken to the nearest school, with their parents or guardians contacted to address the situation.

?We don?t need to have any child that is of school age to be outside the school environment during school hours.

?The Ministry established what we call Education Marshalls they would work like the taskforce but not in the same modality.

?The reason for setting up this group is for them to move around during school hours.

?Any child of school age that is seen around would be picked up not to be beaten or embarrassed but to be taken to the school nearest to him but before he or she is taken to the school.

?We would use the child to locate the parents or guardian and we will be able to pick up the person and know the reason for keeping the child from going to school?, he said.

He also expressed the readiness of the government to commence a programme known as Mathematics Clinic scheduled to hold from 7:00am-7:45 am daily for Junior and Senior Secondary School 3 students.

Ubochi said that the classes had been designed to strengthen the confidence and competence of the students in Mathematics.

He further said that seasoned teachers would lead the teaching sessions, with principals ensuring effective implementation.

He explained that there would be additional teaching sessions from 2:00pm-4:00pm, focusing on key subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English for JSS3 and SS3 students.

?We want to build up the confidence of certificate class students, that is the JSS 3 and SS3 students.

?Mathematics is subject that cuts across board and is a major challenge to our students.

?So we decided that from 7:00am ? 7:45am before the normal school activity there will be Mathematics Clinic.

?We are working out to have teachers who are seasoned in place to make sure that this is carried out.

?Before the announcement I made, we had a meeting with school principals, because they would be the drivers of this initiative and they promised they would do it.

?At least when they are drilled for 40-45 minutes they should be able to build up the confidence and be competent in handling Mathematics.

?There is also the extension of the closure time from 2:00pm to 4:00pm; we also intend to handle Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English within this extended time,? Ubochi said.

He said that the programme focused on enhancing students? competence in these critical subjects, and preparing them to excel in their exams, independently. (NAN)

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