Phuong T. Nguyen, Chief of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for Maiduguri Field Office has lamented the shortage of qualified teachers managing schools in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
She noted that only 29 per cent of schools in the states have teachers with minimum and required qualifications to teach. Speaking during a media dialogue to amplify the achievements of global partnership for education accelerated funding in Maiduguri, Nguyen said the devastating impact of poverty, insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic further deteriorated access to quality education in the Northeast region.
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She said average pupil-teacher ratio in the region is 124:1 where about half of all the schools need rehabilitation. “Only 47% of schools in Borno State have furniture with lower proportions in Yobe (32%) and Adamawa (26%),” she said.
The UN officer added that only 30% of schools in Adamawa have adequate learning material for pupils with lower proportions of 26% and 25% in Borno and Yobe respectively.
She further explained that about 1.9 million boys, girls and youth affected by the conflict in the region have no access to basic quality education. Nguyen said UNICEF is partnering with the federal government through the Ministry of Education, the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) and the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) to support over 18, 000 unqualified teachers working in the region in addressing the challenges.
