‘Lack Of Teachers, Infrastructure Hinder Nomadic Education’

The National Commission for Nomadic Education says shortage of teachers and inadequate infrastructure were major factors limiting the growth of nomadic education in the country.

The Acting Executive Secretary, Malam Ibrahim Yamti, made the statement in Awka when he visited the Chairman of the Anambra Universal Basic Education Board, Mr Nzemeka Olisa, last Thursday.

Yamti, who led six other members of the commission, said they were in the state to revitalise and assess the needs of ongoing projects and programmes of the commission.

Represented by the Director of Administration, Mr Jacs Nkume, the executive secretary expressed regret that a large number of teachers in nomadic schools were employed by the parents-teachers associations.

“The basic constraint of nomadic education is inadequate and sometimes undue transfer of specialised teachers. “In some schools, we discovered that the ratio of teachers and pupils is high; you will notice about 600 pupils would have only three or four teachers teaching many subjects. How can you explain that?” he asked.

He called for the recruitment of more teachers by the state universal basic education boards, as well as local and state governments to reduce the high level of recruitment done by the parents/teachers associations.

Yamti urged state governments to provide incentives, including cash, motorcycles and bicycles to teachers and supervisors for efficient teaching and supervision.

“We have a mandate to ensure that we bring to fruition the national policy on education which states that every child must be given access to education, including people hard to reach, to ensure that they are integrated into national life,” he said.

Yamti, who visited the Speaker of the Anambra House of Assembly, Mrs Chinwe Nwebili, also called for a legislation for the establishment of grazing reserves for nomads in the state.

He said such would solve the problems of invasion of farm lands and the resultant disputes with communities.

Responding, Nwebili assured the delegation that the legislature would work with the state Universal Basic Education Board to make laws to help improve the lives of nomads.