Teacher taking pupils through a lesson from the Mukaranta textbook.
Employing qualified teachers is central to achieving basic quality education. Standards of education are lowered when there is no policy in place to regulate the recruitment of trained and qualified teachers.
In 2012, the Northern Education Initiative in collaboration with policy-level officials from the education sector developed the Bauchi State Teacher Recruitment and (TRD) policy document. This policy document was designed to create a more effective process for hiring and deployment of teachers to meet the demand for quality education in Bauchi state.
Today in 2020, more than 10,000 additional qualified teachers are needed in Bauchi to meet a class ratio of one (1) teacher per 40 pupils. To address teacher recruitment gaps based on current education realities, a two-day review of the Bauchi State TRD policy document was conducted with policy-level officers.
Alh. Yakub Isa the A.g Permanent Secretary, Teachers Service Commission, who participated in the exercise said, “The TRD policy document will help in identifying qualified and right teachers during recruitment”. He added that deployment will now be done according to the need of each school and community.
Group presentation during the Teacher Recruitment & Deployment workshop
Working in groups, participants made suggestions to improve the TRD policy provisions. They listed that specific areas of needs and location should be included in recruitment adverts; the professional qualification of all recruited teachers should be verified before final engagement; bio-metric tracking of teachers should be carried out by the teachers commission; promotion should be done by a proper assessment of teacher’s performance; teachers commission to be solely responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance of the TRD policy; and allowance for teachers in rural areas should cover the distance from their location to school.
At the TRD workshop: Almustapha Zubairu – Executive Chairman Bauchi State House of Assembly Commission; Lami Buba – A.g Chairperson, Special Schools Management Board; Yakub Isa A.g Permanent Secretary Teachers Service Commission, Bauchi State.
At the TRD workshop: Almustapha Zubairu – Executive Chairman Bauchi State House of Assembly Commission; Lami Buba – A.g Chairperson, Special Schools Management Board; Yakub Isa A.g Permanent Secretary Teachers Service Commission, Bauchi State.
Ms. Lami Buba, A.g Chairperson Special Schools Management Board, as a representative of a recruitment agency says the TRD policy document will make recruitment and deployment process more effective.
As part of the initiative’s strategy to sustain state government’s ownership of improvement in learning outcomes, NEI Plus continues to provide technical support for relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Written by Adebisi Adetunji(Photos credit)
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