The Jigawa State Government has recruited 2,020 additional secondary school teachers as part of efforts to address staffing shortages and improve teaching and learning across public schools in the state.
The new recruits comprise 1,100 teachers appointed on permanent and pensionable terms and 920 engaged through the J-Teach programme.
Governor Umar Namadi presented the appointment letters to the beneficiaries at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Dutse, saying the recruitment was aimed at improving pupil-teacher and student-teacher ratios, particularly in underserved rural communities.
The governor said the latest intervention formed part of his administration’s broader investment in education, which includes school infrastructure, learning materials, teacher recruitment and professional development.
“Barely a month ago, we provided school uniforms, bags, and writing materials to thousands of learners across the state to improve access and strengthen learning conditions,” Namadi said.
“Today, we complement that investment by expanding the teaching workforce and directing qualified teachers to schools where shortages are most acute, particularly in underserved rural communities,” he added.
Namadi said the appointments would not only strengthen the teaching workforce but also create employment opportunities for qualified young people in the state.
He stressed that government’s investment in education could not be limited to infrastructure and learning materials without ensuring that schools had adequate numbers of qualified and motivated teachers.
“More than ever, in a rapidly changing world powered by information and communication technology, people need the knowledge, skills, and tools that quality education provides to thrive,” the governor said.
He added that investments in classrooms, furniture, instructional materials, technology and school governance must be matched by sufficient numbers of qualified teachers capable of delivering effective instruction.
Namadi said his administration would continue to prioritise teacher development through induction, continuous training and retraining, improved teaching methods and professional development programmes implemented through the Teacher Development Agency.
The governor described the latest recruitment as part of a commitment made at the beginning of his administration to address unfavourable teacher-to-student ratios and ensure a more balanced distribution of teachers across schools.
“This intervention fulfils a commitment made at the inception of our administration: to improve unfavourable pupil–teacher and student–teacher ratios through the recruitment of qualified teachers, sustained training and retraining, and a more balanced deployment policy,” he said.
He explained that the objective was not simply to increase the number of government employees but to ensure that schools, particularly those in underserved communities, had the personnel required to provide effective teaching.
“The objective is not simply to increase staff numbers but to ensure that every school—particularly those in underserved rural communities—has the right mix of personnel to deliver effective teaching and meaningful learning,” Namadi said.
The governor said the latest recruitment added to thousands of teaching personnel brought into the state’s education system since 2023.
According to him, 7,500 personnel had entered basic education through the J-Teach pathway since the beginning of his administration, with 3,000 subsequently converted to permanent and pensionable appointments after training and a competitive selection process.
At the post-basic education level, he said nearly 2,000 personnel had also been engaged through the programme, with 1,000 later securing permanent status.
The governor said the expansion of the teaching workforce had also been supported by the deployment of more than 2,100 graduate teachers and the recruitment of about 600 teaching and non-teaching staff for mega schools and other boarding senior secondary schools across the state.
He assured the newly recruited teachers that the government would provide support to enable them to perform their responsibilities effectively.
“Government will support you with effective induction, mentoring, supervision, and fair performance assessment,” Namadi said.
He urged the new teachers to demonstrate professionalism, discipline and commitment to the interests of learners, stressing that their role would be critical to improving learning outcomes across the state.
The governor also acknowledged the contribution of Guaranty Trust Bank to improving access to education in hard-to-reach communities.
He said the bank had donated 450 bicycles to pupils and students who travel long distances to school, describing the intervention as one that would ease the burden of daily transportation for affected learners.
According to Namadi, the bicycles would help improve punctuality, attendance and retention among pupils and students in communities where distance remains a barrier to regular school attendance.
The latest recruitment comes as the Jigawa Government continues to expand its education workforce alongside investments in school facilities, instructional materials and teacher development.
The focus on rural deployment is particularly significant because shortages and uneven distribution of teachers can place additional pressure on schools serving remote communities and affect the availability of qualified personnel for learners.
The state government said the new appointments were therefore intended to strengthen staffing levels while ensuring that qualified teachers were deployed to schools with the greatest needs.
The intervention also forms part of the administration’s wider education strategy, which the governor said would continue to combine recruitment with training, supervision and professional development.
West Trybe reports that Jigawa’s recruitment of 2,020 additional secondary school teachers is aimed at narrowing staffing gaps across public schools, with particular attention to underserved rural communities and the broader effort to improve teaching and learning outcomes in the state.
