In a bid to enforce school attendance, Abia State’s Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Goodluck Ubochi, has announced that the Abia Education Marshals will begin hunting pupils not in school during school hours starting March 1.
Ubochi made this disclosure on Tuesday after a press conference ahead of the Abia school’s transformation programme launching on February 26.
According to Ubochi, pupils found absent from school will be arrested and used to apprehend their parents, who will be punished for not sending them to school. “The government would enforce school attendance by pupils because it has invested in giving them a better education,” he said.
The Abia school transformation programme, themed “AbiaFIRST” (Fostering Innovation and Reform for School Transformation), aims to revamp the state’s education sector. The programme will commence with 221 out of 1,600 schools, with 10 primary schools and five secondary schools selected from each of the 17 local government areas.
Ubochi noted that the transformation is real, but it’s a journey that starts with a step. “We plan to reach out to all the schools that have challenges at the same time, but we have to start somewhere,” he said.
In addition to the transformation programme, the state government has engaged communities to assist in securing public schools, which have been challenged by vandalism. Schools with minor infrastructure challenges will be fixed before the rains set in fully.
Under Dr. Alex Otti’s Free Education policy, principals and head teachers receive imprest funds of N100,000 and N80,000 monthly, respectively. The improved welfare of teachers is part of the holistic project “Fostering Innovation and Reform for School Transformation.”
The extension of teachers’ service years and increment of their salaries are currently being implemented, but only physically fit teachers who can deliver as expected will be given the extension.