The deplorable state of education in Borno State was on display in Malam-Fatori, Abadam Local Government Area, where the state Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, discovered that the majority of junior secondary school students could not read.
Last Thursday, Zulum paid a surprise visit to Malam-Fatori, the headquarters of Abadam Local Government Area, located along the shores of Lake Chad in the state’s northern part, and conducted an aptitude test on about 100 students at the school’s Junior Secondary School section.
At the end of the test, the governor discovered that 95% of the admitted students could not read. Only seven students claimed to be able to read.
He then had each of the seven students read a passage from a textbook while saying “Social Studies.”
Five of the seven students were correct, while two were incorrect.
The governor was concerned about the school’s teaching quality, especially after learning that only six of the LGA’s 224 teachers were present during his visit, and none of them had the required teaching qualification.
Zulum’s research results backed up a report he received in February 2022 that evaluated the quality of primary school teachers in Borno State’s 27 local government areas.
According to the report, Abadam had the worst indices because only 14 of the 224 teachers assessed were certified fit to teach in primary schools, and none of the 14 was at the school during the governor’s visit on Thursday.
Also, 70 of the 224 teachers in Abadam LGA were found to be trainable, while 140 were found to be untrainable and thus unqualified to teach.
At the conclusion of his findings at Malam-Fatori Central Primary School, Zulum directed that drastic measures be taken to address the situation, including the deployment of qualified teachers and the retraining of 70 teachers identified as trainable across the LGA.
He pledged the government’s support in encouraging the 70 teachers to return to college to gain the necessary knowledge and teaching skills.
Meanwhile, the governor oversaw the distribution of cash to 600 families (households) who had returned to Malam-Fatori for resettlement after dealing with school assessments.
