JOS – Dr. Athanasius Dashen, the outgoing Plateau Commissioner for Education, on Monday decried the acute shortage of teachers in public secondary schools, and called for urgent steps to check the trend.
The Commissioner, who spoke in Jos, while handing over to his successor, Dr. Paul Wai, lamented that the 305 secondary schools in Plateau had only 3000 teachers.
“The minimum number of teachers required to do a good job should have been 11,000; the 300 teachers available just cannot do much,’’ he said.
Dashen, however, advised members of the public to be patient with the situation, stressing that the matter was being addressed by Gov. Jonah Jang.
He said that government had worked toward establishing quality schools in the state, with 18 secondary schools undergoing total renovation, while supervision had been intensified in senior and junior secondary schools.
Dashen claimed that results of junior secondary school examinations had improved over the past few years, and attributed the development to strict supervision and steady evaluation of progress.
He cautioned against examination malpractice, and explained that stakeholders had consistently met to proffer solutions.
Dr Paul Wai, Dashen’s successor, in his response, promised to operate an open door policy where constructive criticisms would be accepted.
“I will make it a duty to listen to advice and shall even go out to seek for it,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Dashen was moved to the Ministry of Science and Technology in a minor cabinet reshuffle announced last week by Jang. (NAN)
Plateau education commissioner decries shortage of teachers
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