JIGAWA’S BIG EDUCATION PUSH: 2,020 TEACHERS HIRED By Abdullahi Idris Dustse

 "Namadi targets rural teacher shortages, better learning outcomes"

The Jigawa State Government has recruited 2,020 additional secondary school teachers as part of efforts to address manpower shortages and improve teaching and learning across the state.

Governor Umar Namadi presented appointment letters to the new recruits at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Dutse, comprising 1,100 teachers employed on permanent and pensionable terms and 920 engaged under the J-Teach programme.

Governor Namadi Umar presenting letter of appointment in government house Duste 

Namadi said the recruitment was designed to improve pupil-teacher and student-teacher ratios, with priority given to schools in underserved rural communities.

The governor said the latest intervention was part of his administration’s broader investment in education, stressing that improved infrastructure and learning materials must be matched with sufficient numbers of qualified and motivated teachers.

He said the government would also strengthen teacher development through induction, continuous training and retraining, improved teaching methods and professional development under the Teacher Development Agency.

“This intervention fulfils a commitment made at the inception of our administration: to improve unfavourable pupil-teacher and student-teacher ratios through the recruitment of qualified teachers, sustained training and retraining, and a more balanced deployment policy,” Namadi said.

According to him, the administration has significantly expanded the teaching workforce since 2023.

He disclosed that 7,500 personnel had entered basic education through the J-Teach pathway, with 3,000 subsequently converted to permanent and pensionable appointments after training and competitive selection.

Some of newly employed teachers 

At the post-basic level, nearly 2,000 personnel had been engaged through the programme, with 1,000 later securing permanent appointments.

The governor added that the government had also deployed more than 2,100 graduate teachers and recruited about 600 teaching and non-teaching staff for mega schools and other boarding senior secondary schools.

Namadi urged the new teachers to demonstrate professionalism, discipline and commitment to learners, assuring them of government support through induction, mentoring, supervision and fair performance assessment.

He also commended Guaranty Trust Bank for donating 450 bicycles to pupils and students who travel long distances to schools in hard-to-reach communities.

The governor said the bicycles would ease the burden of daily travel while improving punctuality, attendance and retention among affected learners.

The latest recruitment comes shortly after the state government distributed school uniforms, bags and writing materials to thousands of learners across Jigawa.