The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Executive Council has approved two contracts for the procurement and distribution of examination materials to public primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools across the territory.
The Mandate Secretary of the FCT Education Secretariat, Dr Danlami Hayyo, disclosed this on Tuesday after the FCTA Executive Council meeting chaired by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, in Abuja.
Hayyo said the contracts were intended to support the smooth conduct of examinations across the various levels of public education in the FCT.
He said the procurement had become necessary amid what he described as a significant increase in enrolment in public schools.
According to him, the increase was partly linked to infrastructure improvements in public schools across the territory.
“This contract is very important, especially now that many parents in the FCT community are removing their children from private schools and bringing them back to public schools.
“This shift is due to the total renovation and rehabilitation of FCT schools,” he said.
Hayyo said the provision of renovated classrooms, improved facilities and instructional materials would help create a more conducive environment for learning.
He, however, said students’ academic performance depended on several factors, including the learning environment, teacher motivation, welfare and continuous professional development.
Hayyo attributed some recent declines in academic performance in the FCT to industrial actions by teachers.
“If you compare the performance of our students and pupils in FCT over recent years, the challenges noticed came as a result of industrial action.
“Primary school teachers previously closed schools for almost a complete term,” he said.
On the welfare of primary school teachers, Hayyo explained that they were under the jurisdiction of the Area Councils rather than the FCTA.
He said the FCT Administration had intervened in the settlement of outstanding teacher entitlements, with the FCTA providing 40 per cent of the funds while the Area Councils were expected to provide the remaining 60 per cent.
Hayyo added that the administration releases N2 billion monthly as an intervention fund to support the settlement of outstanding arrears owed to Area Council teachers.
“The Minister has resolved everything regarding the union issues. With these interventions and infrastructure in place, we expect a steady rise in student performance across the Territory,” Hayyo said.
