By Uji Abdullaqhi Iliyasu
Abuja
Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwukah, has charged Unity College principals across the country to take responsibility for students’ good or poor performances in the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Annual General Meeting of principals of the 104 Federal Unity Colleges in Kano, the minister, who was represented by the director of human resources management in the ministry, Alhaji Auwalu Koko, said “some of the college principals condone indiscipline and indolence which makes it difficult for some of the colleges to fully operate as centres of excellence.”
He said “principals must prove their competency through improved performances of their students,” even as he acknowledged the improved performances of many schools in the last examination, which accounts for 59 per cent for SSCE and 70 per cent for NECO, respectively.
Anwukah reiterated government’s commitment to providing the enabling environment for them to perform their functions by strengthening the relevant departments in the ministry.
He told principals that states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had been sensitised on the need to weed out unregistered teachers from the system.
The permanent secretary, in the ministry, Arc Sonny Echono, represented by the director of basic and secondary education, Alhaji Mohammed Karage, said the issue of teacher capacity was a necessity to bridge the gaps relating to students’ performances; hence he commended the theme for this year’s meeting which was: “Human Capital Development: A veritable tool for Academic Excellence in Federal Government Colleges.”
He commended the critical stakeholders in college administration, including the Parents Teachers Associations (PTA) and the School Based Management Committees (SBMC), for their complementary roles.
“The opinion of these partners would always be sought before arriving at major decisions,” he said.
