The Kogi State House of Assembly has called on the state government to urgently address the acute shortage of teachers in primary schools across the state, particularly in the Ijumu local government area.
The call followed a motion raised during plenary by the member representing Ijumu state constituency, Hon. Omotayo Adeleye Ishaya.
Presenting the motion, Hon. Ishaya emphasised that education remains the foundation of development and the central driver of progress, peace and prosperity.
She commended Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for his reforms in the education sector, but stressed that the manpower gap in Ijumu requires prompt attention.
The lawmaker noted that during her recent assessment tour of schools, she found situations where only one teacher, sometimes just the headmaster was left to manage an entire school.
“In other cases, volunteers and NYSC members were filling gaps to ensure learning did not collapse”.
She urged the government to accelerate recruitment, redeployment and welfare improvement for teachers.
Supporting the motion, the member representing Mopa-Muro state constituency, Hon. Olawumi Jacob, described the situation as “a crisis for the soul of the educational system.”
Hon. Olawumi praised Governor Ododo’s directive ordering teachers on secondment back to classrooms, insisting that teachers abandoning chalk for office files undermines children’s dreams.
He said, “When the drummer leaves the drum, the dance loses its rhythm. Before recruiting new teachers, let those already trained return to duty.”
Also speaking, Hon. Yusuf Zakari of Okene II Constituency, thanked the mover of the motion and revealed that during a recent official event attended by the governor, the shortage of teachers in primary schools became glaring, reaffirming the need for immediate government action.
The speaker Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf warned that tertiary institutions cannot thrive if primary and secondary education their feeders are collapsing.
He revealed that in some areas, only community-employed teachers keep schools running despite improved salaries by Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo.
The speaker directed the clerk to summon the state chairman of SUBEB to explain why teachers approved for reabsorption have not been reinstated.
