Over 40 percent teachers lost in North-East – NEDC

Over 40 percent of teachers have been killed in the North-East following the activities of Boko Haram terrorists in the zone.

Mohammed Alkali, Managing Director, North-East Development Commission (NEDC), made the disclosure at the 50th session of the State House briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.

He explained that teachers continue to be the primary target of Boko Haram terrorists in the zone.

The commission, according to him, prioritised the training of teachers in the region because their ranks had been substantially depleted by the insurgents.

“The scarcest product now, not only in Nigeria but elsewhere, is teachers. In the North-East, over 40-50 percent of teachers have either been killed or something has happened to them, because of the insurgency; they are the primary target of those people,” he explained.

He added that the commission needed more teachers in the region in order to ensure effective teaching.

Alkali said that the 13-year insurgency in the North-East geo-political zone had affected so many infrastructures, saying that the federal government had completed the construction of 1,000 housing units as part of its resettlement efforts for millions of inhabitants displaced.

He said the houses had been distributed to various households.

He explained that the houses, which cost N17.5bn, were built in Ngwom, Borno, with plans to build 500 housing units each in five other affected States.

He further stated that the commission had created an Education Endowment Fund with a seed capital of N6bn with plans to dedicate 10 percent of its annual allocation to the Fund, disclosing that lack of robust education system had fuelled the insurgency in the zone.

He said that the NEDC required at least N31.05tn to be able to execute its mandate according to the North-East Stabilisation and Development Master Plan in the next 10 years.