Government yet to employ 163 female teachers trained by UNICEF — SUBEB boss

A total of 163 female NCE graduates, sponsored by the UNICEF, are waiting to be employed by Zamfara state government, the State Chairman Universal Basic Education Board, Murtala Jangebe has said.

Jangebe disclosed this on Friday in Zurmi while speaking at the official launch of Cash Transfer Disbursement Programme of UNICEF Educate A Child (EAC) project.

He said UNICEF sponsored 163 female teachers at the state College of education Maru under its Female Teachers Training Service Scheme with the aim of boosting girl child education in the state.

He noted that the state government had in 2013 signed Memorandum of Understanding with the UNICEF for the scheme.

“The female teachers were drawn from the 14 local government areas of the state and sponsored by the UNICEF with the agreement of going back to their communities to work after graduation in order to enhance girl child education especially in rural communities.

“All of them have graduated and they are waiting for employment by the state government.

“I am using this opportunity to call on the state government to employ these teachers so as to increase the number of our female teachers and improve girl child education in the state,” he said.

Jangebe commended UNICEF and Qatar Foundation for the sponsorship and implementation of the EAC project.

He said the state government was in partnership with the UNICEF in various programmes to enhance both basic and post basic education in the state.

He urged the benefiting parents to utilize the assistance given to them to support their children to be educated.

In his remark, the Chief UNICEF Field Office, Sokoto, Mohameden Fall, said Zamfara was one of the four states partnering with the UNICEF and Qatar Foundation on the EAC project.

Fall said that the overall goal of the EAC project was to expand access to quality basic education for out-of-school children in Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Zamfara states.

He said more than 10,000 out-of-school children were being targeted under the programme across the three local government areas chosen in the state.

“I am calling on the state government to extend the project to other LGAs considering the high rate of out-of-school children in the state,” he said.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the cash transfer disbursement programme is to give N8,000 to parents of each of the selected of out-of-school children to enroll them into schools.