FG disbursed N57bn for teachers’ professional development in 13 years — UBEC

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has disclosed that the Federal Government (FG) disbursed a total amount of N57,165,751,416.12 towards the professional development of teachers in Nigeria.

The UBEC Executive Secretary, Hamid Bobboyi, disclosed this on Monday during the National Conference on Teacher Professional Development currently going on in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Bobboyi while giving a speech further said that the money was disbursed to all the states across the federation in the last 13 years.

“The Federal Government, through UBEC, has contributed a total of N57,165,751,416.12 as assistance to the states for teacher professional development between 2009 and 2022,” he said.

According to him, though, the money is grossly inadequate to cover the training needs of the teachers.

“The states that are being assisted have come to depend largely on the Federal Government fund for their TPD, with little or no contribution,” Bobboyi added.

“This is a major challenge in assuring quality learning outcomes at the basic education level.”

He further expressed concern over the poor number of teachers that had undergone training in recent years.

“The UBEC 2022 National Personnel Audit reveals that 67.5 per cent of teachers in public schools and 85.3 per cent in private schools have not attended any in-service training in five years (2018-2022).

“This prevailing situation has implications for quality education delivery,” Bobboyi said at the conference whose theme is ‘Transforming teacher professional development in Nigeria for improved learning outcomes in basic education’.

Bobboyi also took time to lament the poor learner/pupil ratio in Nigerian schools, saying such negative development had resulted in poor learning outcomes.