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Every Child Counts Radio ProgrammeCivil Society Action Coalition on Education For All KwaraEpisode 3: Every Child Needs a Teacher, Global Action Week on Education Introduction

Welcome to episode 3 of Every Child Counts mention the phone number 0813 308 7657

This show

This week, is the Global Action Week on Education. This event takes places every year and is led by the

Global Campaign for Education; activities in Kwara are being coordinated by CSACEFA. As listeners of the

show will know, this years campaign theme is Every Child Needs a Teacher. In this weeks programme

we will be looking at urban rural disparity, teacher deployment and teacher welfare.

Over 70% of teachers stating that their preference is to work in an urban school the NUT admits that

teachers will do anything to get to urban areas. Those who are given rural postings can face difficult

circumstances including a lack of good accommodation, poor roads, limited transport, fear for their

personal safety, and poor working conditions. These conditions also affect teacher attendance in school.

CSACEFA asked teachers what factors make them miss school regularly or occasionally and found that:

39% of teachers miss school because of having to travel to where their family was based. 25% of

because of the cost of transport to get to school; 25% because they fear for their personal safety; and

14% because of the working conditions they face.

Also some teachers who have been posted to rural schools manage to find their way back to urban

centers. This is leaving some children in rural schools without a teacher a teach them. The Annual

School Census has shown that in rural schools, pupil teacher ratio is as high as 200 students to 1 teacher

in Patigi; 195 in Kaiama; and 133 in Ekiti. Some schools have only a head master and no other teachers.

In urban schools, the highest pupil teacher rato is 64 pupil to 1 teacher, but can be as low as 13 students

to 1 teacher, for example in Ilorin South. This is creating an education gap between children in urban

and rural areas.

We would love to hear from you, and about your experiences, whether you are a teachers, a pupil or a

parent or anyone else please text in. The number is 0813 308 7657.

Questions for Chairman SUBEB,

1. What do you see as the biggest problems facing teachers in rural areas; how are you trying toaddress these problems?

2. When surveyed over 50% of teachers believe that without due process being followed, they canbe transferred to a rural school as a form of punishment, is this the case?

3. There is still a problem of rural to urban drift; many schools in rural areas are understaffed withmany in urban areas having an excess number of teachers. What efforts have been made to

implement the teacher transfer policies so that all children have access to a teacher? What can

be done to improve this process?

4. What is the current rural allowance for teachers? Is there any plan to review or increase this?5. Who tracks teacher attendance? Is there a disciplinary action for not turning up? Is poor

attendance reflected in salary/promotion?

Questions for Chairman CSACEFA, Mr Sogunro

7/30/2019 Every Child Counts Radio Programme. Episode 3 (Autosaved)

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1. The Kwara House Assembly has set out that no person, including the political office holders,should interfere in the posting of teachers to schools in the rural areas CSACEFA research has

shown that only 30% of teachers believe that this policy is being properly implemented.

Teachers have spoken of being able to use connections, godfathers and godmothers, to help

them to choose which school they teach in. What more can be done to ensure this policy is

correctly implemented.

2.

What can be done to in the short term to improve the welfare of teachers in rural areas?3. What does CSACEFA think can be done long term to increase the number of teachers in rural

areas?