North East Commission Expands Academic Support Programme In Taraba

The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has reaffirmed its commitment to improving the quality of education and skills acquisition in Taraba State, with plans to expand its Academic Support and Skills Enhancement Programme (ASSEP) across the state.

The commitment was made at the close of a two-day stakeholders’ engagement meeting held in Jalingo under the theme, “From Engagement to Impact: Strengthening Academic Support and Skills Enhancement for Teachers and Students in the North-East Region.”

The meeting brought together government officials, education stakeholders, teachers and development partners to review the implementation of the programme and chart the way forward.

Speaking at the event, the General Manager of the Relief and Remediation Department of the NEDC, Dr Batulu Isa Muhammad, said the programme is designed to improve the academic performance and practical skills of students, while enhancing the capacity of teachers across the North-East.

She explained that the initiative targets not only students but also school dropouts and graduates in need of employable skills, with emphasis on science, technology, engineering and vocational education.

According to Dr Muhammad, the first phase of the programme recorded significant success, with many participating students scoring above 300 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), while none scored below 200.

She also disclosed that the commission is expanding the programme by increasing the number of Virtual Reality Science Laboratories from one to six in each state to enable more students and teachers to benefit from modern learning facilities, noting that the NEDC is also complementing its educational interventions with the Safe Schools Initiative to improve security around learning institutions and encourage parents to send their children back to school despite prevailing security challenges.

Muhammad added that the programme is currently focused on public schools, where the need for intervention is greatest, and assured stakeholders that the commission would continue working with state governments to improve infrastructure, equipment and teacher capacity.

Also speaking, the Taraba State Commissioner for Secondary, Technical and Vocational Education, Dr Augustina Godwin, commended the NEDC for sustaining the Academic Support and Skills Enhancement Programme, describing it as a major boost to the state’s education sector.

Godwin, who represented the State Commissioner for Information Re-Orientation, Barr Zainab Usman Jalingo, said Taraba had benefited immensely from the initiative through teacher capacity-building programmes, including training in Artificial Intelligence, digital learning and the Black Belt Teacher Development Programme.

She urged the commission to sustain and expand the programme, particularly in science, technical and vocational education, noting that the interventions align with Governor Agbu Kefas’ education reforms on free and compulsory basic education.

According to her, the state government is considering the recruitment of additional science teachers to complement ongoing reforms and improve science education in public schools.

She further stressed the importance of technical and vocational education in tackling youth unemployment, revealing that Taraba is developing strategies to strengthen technical education following a working visit to study Finland’s vocational education model.

The commissioner also advocated the introduction of academic competitions, debates and quizzes to encourage innovation, discover talents and improve students’ academic performance.

In his remarks, the Taraba State Coordinator of the NEDC, Malam Adamu Lawan, appreciated participants for their contributions, saying the stakeholders’ engagement was one of the critical steps towards ensuring the successful implementation of the programme.

He said the discussions at the meeting reinforced the importance of collaboration among government agencies, school managers, communities and development partners in delivering quality education and skills development.

Malam Lawan called on stakeholders to continue supporting the programme through transparency, community participation and effective implementation.

He added that investing in education and skills acquisition remains key to empowering young people, reducing unemployment and promoting sustainable development across Taraba State and the North-East region as a whole.