From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti

Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board(SUBEB) has said public primary school teachers who refused rural areas postings should resign.
SUBEB Chairman, Femi Akinwumi, said this in Ikogosi, Ekiti West Local Government Area, yesterday, while flagging off a five-day training programme for primary schools’ Quality Assurance Officers, at the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort Centre.
He said standard of education has improved considerably under Governor Kayode Fayemi since 2018, compared to what was obtainable during the immediate past government.
“We don’t have teachers in local areas while they are in surplus in our cities, particularly Ado-Ekiti. This lopsidedness is a major problem and we have to embark on teachers’ redistribution. If we don’t use radical approach, we won’t go far.
“We have teachers that are sufficient in primary schools, but the question to ask is, have those teachers in the villages committed crime?
“The new policy now is, is either they honour the postings we are going to do or they tender their resignation. Some believe they can influence, but in this exercise, we are going to transfer those who thought they are untouchable,” he said.
Speaking about the kernel of the training, Akinwumi said productivity and efficiency are necessary ingredients for schools to perform, adding that quality assurance is required to enhance quality teaching, for good performances by pupils in external examinations.
“Ekiti has the best teachers-pupils ratio in Nigeria, which is 1 to 28. It is even 1 to 14 in our rural schools. With this, we have no reason not to have the best results in public examinations.
“Before Governor Fayemi came, counterpart funding was not paid, salary and pension not paid, promotion not regular, training and retraining of staff went to a halt for four years, causing poor performances of pupils. But today, the governor has paid arrears of 2017 to 2020 and partly, 2021 promotions.
“Quality assurance is the best way to achieve the best in any organisation. If we are doing much in all areas, but we can’t monitor and ensure we are getting quality, then things will go wrong,” he said.
Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission, Hamid Boboyi, represented by the South West Zonal Director, P. A. Oyedokun, described quality assurance as the best way to strengthen education at the primary level.

 

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being the foundation of every academic pursuit.
He said: “Effective school monitoring will boost the capacities and having these quality assurance officers will help in evaluating the performances of both pupils, teachers and schools in general, for better performances.”