1.3 Million Teachers Needed for Basic Education - Minister

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu has said that in order to bridge the wide gap between the number of teachers required and the current number available for basic education, about 1.3 million teachers are needed in the next six years. He spoke at the national flag-off ceremony of the 2015 teachers' development training held in Abuja Tuesday. Mallam Adamu who noted that the number was the latest released on teachers, said it was in view of this that the federal government was working towards the recruitment and injection of 500, 000 teachers into basic education across the country. "When completed, it would place more responsibilities and higher expectations on states and local governments in terms of the roles they would play in providing more teaching infrastructure and instructional materials," he said. The minister expressed concern on the inability of some state governments and State universal Basic Education Boards to promptly access the matching grants from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).