Boko Haram: Over 40% of teachers lost in the North East – NEDC

More than 40% of teachers have been killed in the Northeast as a result of the activities of Boko Haram terrorists in the area.

Mohammed Alkali, CEO of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), made the revelation during the 50th State House Briefing hosted by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja on Thursday.

He explained that teachers continue to be the main target of Boko Haram terrorists in the area.

The commission, he said, prioritized the training of teachers in the area because their ranks had been significantly depleted by the insurgents.

“The rarest commodity right now, not only in Nigeria but elsewhere, is teachers. insurgency; they are the main target of these people,” he explained.

He added that the commission needed more teachers in the region to ensure effective teaching.

Alkali said the 13-year-old insurgency in the Northeast geopolitical zone had affected so much infrastructure, saying the federal government had completed the construction of 1,000 housing units as part of its resettlement efforts to millions of displaced inhabitants.

He said the houses had been distributed to different households.

He explained that the houses, which cost 17.5 billion naira, were built in Ngwom, Borno, with plans to build 500 housing units each in five other affected states.

He further said that the commission had set up an education endowment fund with a seed capital of N6 billion with the intention of dedicating 10% of its annual allocation to the fund, revealing that the he absence of a strong education system had fueled the insurgency in the area.

He said the NEDC needed at least 31.05 tn to be able to carry out its mandate according to the North East Stabilization and Development Master Plan over the next 10 years.