Teaching should be more profitable than other professions, says UBEC 

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja 

Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has said it targets making teaching more profitable than other professions, as it was the case in some developed countries.

UBEC said ongoing reforms in the system would attract and encourage best candidates to build career in the teaching profession and get adequate compensation for their efforts. 

UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, told journalists in Abuja, at the weekend, that over N10billion had been  designated for capacity development of teachers in basic education system.

This, he said, represented  10 per cent of the entire amount received from the consolidated revenue fund, which would be disbursed through states’ Universal Basic Education Board. 

He said over N15 billion, which was 15 per cent of consolidated revenue fund, was also designated for the procurement of instructional materials for basic schools.

UBEC spokesman, David Apeh, in a statement quoted Bobboyi as saying that the financial provisions might not be enough, hence the charge on states to judiciously utilise the money and source for other funding opportunities. 

He recalled that 2018 National Personnel Audit (NPA) report on public and private basic education schools in Nigeria revealed a short fall of 277, 537 teachers in schools, 73 per cent in public schools and 53 per cent in private schools.