Boko Haram kill over 40 percent teachers in North-East – NEDC
More than 40 percent of teachers have lost their lives in the North-East following the activities of Boko Haram terrorists in the zone.
Managing Director, North-East Development Commission (NEDC), Mohammed Alkali, made this revelation at the 50th session of the State House briefing which was organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the country capital on Thursday.
He disclosed that teachers have continued to be the primary target of Boko Haram terrorists in the north eastern zone.
According to him, the commission considers the training of teachers in the region a priority because their ranks had been substantially relegated by the Boko Haram insurgents.
“The scarcest product now, not only in Nigeria but elsewhere, is teachers. In the North-East, over 40-50 percent of teachers have either been killed or something has happened to them, because of the insurgency; they are the primary target of those people,” he explained.
He said that the commission needed more teachers in the north eastern region of the country to enable effective teaching.
Alkali lamented that that the insurgency which has lasted for 13 years in the North-Eastern geo-political zone had reduced the quality of so many infrastructures.
He said that the construction of 1,000 housing units by the federal government, as part of its resettlement efforts for millions of displaced inhabitants, had witnessed a completion.
He revealed that the houses had been sent to various households.
He explained that the houses, which cost N17.5bn, were built in Ngwom, Borno, with plans to build 500 housing units each in five other affected States.
He further stated that the commission had created an Education Endowment Fund with a seed capital of N6bn with plans to dedicate 10 percent of its annual allocation to the Fund, disclosing that lack of robust education system had fuelled the insurgency in the zone.
He said that the NEDC required at least N31.05tn to be able to execute its mandate according to the North-East Stabilisation and Development Master Plan in the next 10 years.
