To achieve considerable improvement in girls’ enrolment and arrest the growing rate of out-of-school children in the North, government at the state and the federal levels in the region must step up employment of more female teachers, the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has said.
The body which asked the federal and state governments to employ more female teachers in schools in northern Nigeria, said the development will no doubt raise girls’ enrolment in schools and eradicate the out-of-school children growing population.
It its two reports on the Effect of Female Teachers on girls’ Enrolment and Retention in Northern Nigeria, and C4D Assessment in Basic Education, in Abuja, UNICEF said the effects of female teachers on girls’ enrolment and retention in Northern Nigeria were positive, going by its research reports conducted in eight states in the north.
Some of the states where the research was conducted include Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara and Taraba.
The reports said: “To provide additional perspective on the magnitude of female teacher deficit in both urban and rural areas, we calculate that in the eight states under study, rural schools will need to hire about an additional 58,121 females across 17,576 rural schools and an additional 3,775 female teachers across 4,225 urban schools.
“This deficit is much more significant in rural schools where on average, each school will have to hire additional three female teachers.”
The UNICEF reports also recommended that female teachers being posted to rural areas should be given adequate financial compensation to attract first rate candidates to the teaching profession.
