CHAIRMAN of Ezza North Council of Ebonyi State, Mr. Ikeuwa Omebe, has explained why the council employed 203 primary school teachers, saying that making education a priority remains the only sure way to guarantee a good future for children.Omebe, who made the clarification at the council headquarters, Ebiaji while handing over appointment letters to the successful applicants, disclosed that the council has in the current dispensation, spent about N39 million on improving educational facilities and provision of instruction materials for pupils in the council area.While praising the state Governor Martin Elechi for granting the Universal Basic Education Board the waiver to employ the teachers, the council chairman disclosed that the number employed was based on the demand on the ground, stressing: 'We tried to ensure that all the schools have enough manpower.'He expressed the belief that 'if you give a child the proper basic, foundational education, he could go places,' adding that his administration had been encouraging the study of special science subjects and mathematics through various incentives and teaching aids.His words: 'As we stated during the workshop, we have actually increased emphasis on educational materials; it is actually to promote study of science subjects. The instructional materials are meant to demystify to them those subjects. We also embark on school-to-school orientation and advocacy to tell the pupils the importance of science subjects and the need for them to do well in those areas.Professionalism is also very important to us.'The issue is that education is a priority to us and I keep emphasising to our people that the sector is really capital intensive. As a matter of fact, the issue of teachers' salaries and allowances has always been a basic thing because they have to be well fed before they can teach. What I wish to drive home is that to whom much is given, much is expected to the extent that if we make every effort to pay salaries, meet up with their legitimate demands as at when due, they should try to reciprocate that by ensuring that they give our children the best in qualitative education.'On the concerns raised in certain quarters that based on their number, the salaries of the newly recruited teachers could reduce fund available to other sectors, Omebe said: 'We know what standard education is all about. If you hanker after standard education, it must not be when you pair one teacher to 1,000 pupils. Rather, it should be one teacher to a reasonable number of pupils. It is then you can expect qualitative output from the input.'He maintained that the council recruited that number of teachers mainly based on the realities on the ground, stressing that death, retirement and mobility have depleted the number of teaching staff.'It is as a result of these factors that we tried to ensure that wherever our schools are located, they should have enough manpower to really provide for the pupils the full needs of basic education,' he averred.
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