The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqa Rabe-Darma, has recruited 200 volunteer teachers to provide additional lessons for senior secondary school students preparing for major examinations in Katsina State.
The initiative is aimed at helping students strengthen their academic performance as they prepare for terminal examinations, including the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The state coordinator of the programme, Abdulsalam Abubakar, disclosed this during the training of the selected volunteers in Katsina State.
200 Volunteers Selected from Over 1,000 Applicants
According to Abubakar, the 200 volunteers were selected from more than 1,050 applicants following a screening and interview process.
The selection exercise also included practical tests designed to assess applicants’ knowledge and competence in their respective subject areas.
The selected volunteers will teach key secondary school subjects, including English Language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Government and Accounting.
The coordinator explained that the programme is designed to provide students with additional academic support while giving them a stronger foundation for further education.
Programme to Begin in Seven Local Government Areas
The extra lessons will initially take place in seven local government areas of Katsina State.
They are Malumfashi, Funtua, Dutsinma, Kankia, Katsina, Mani and Daura.
The organisers plan to expand the programme to all 34 local government areas in the state as the initiative progresses.
Each of the seven participating local government areas will have two designated centres where students can attend the extra lessons.
The classes are expected to hold mainly during weekends, while additional teaching days may be introduced during school holidays depending on students’ schedules.
Volunteer Teachers Receive Training
Before being deployed to the various learning centres, the selected volunteers are undergoing a three-day training programme.
The training covers important areas such as teaching techniques, classroom management, learning strategies and understanding learners’ needs.
Training sessions are being conducted at centres in Malumfashi, Dutsinma, Katsina and Daura.
Abubakar explained that the training is particularly important because some of the selected volunteers are graduates who did not study education.
According to him, the training will introduce such volunteers to basic principles of effective teaching and learning and help them deliver lessons more effectively.
Volunteers to Receive Monthly Allowances
The programme will also provide financial support to the participating graduates.
Volunteers with Higher National Diploma (HND) qualifications and university degrees will receive a monthly allowance of N40,000, while those with National Certificate in Education (NCE) qualifications will receive N30,000.
The coordinator said the initiative is expected to provide unemployed graduates with income while giving them valuable classroom experience.
He added that the experience could improve their prospects when future opportunities arise in teaching and other related fields.
Students to Be Enrolled at Designated Centres
The organisers have secured approval from the Katsina State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to use public secondary schools as centres for the programme.
Students interested in participating will be enrolled through online and printed registration forms available at the designated centres.
After registration, students will be assigned to appropriate centres where they will receive extra lessons based on the programme’s timetable and curriculum.
The organisers expressed optimism that the intervention would improve students’ preparation for their examinations while also contributing to the development of education in Katsina State.
If sustained and expanded across the state, the programme could provide additional academic support to more students preparing for SSCE and UTME while creating opportunities for unemployed graduates to gain teaching experience.
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