The Ogun State Teaching Service Commission has proposed N22.7bn for 2021 fiscal budget in order to improve the standard of education in the state.
It disclosed this in a statement on Monday entitled ‘Ogun TESCOM proposes N22.7b for fiscal year’.
The statement said the Chairman of the commission, Ifede Olamilekan, said this at the budget defense before the Committee on Financial and Appropriation at the House of Assembly’s complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
He noted that having put into consideration the projection of outstanding promotion for teachers and proposed engagement of graduate teachers, the commission would require an additional fund to accommodate them.
He appealed to the committee members to give consideration to an additional N4.4bn for salaries and allowance for the year 2021, noting that the upward review of the rural allowance for teaching staff in the rural area should also be looked into.
Olamilekan appreciated the government’s effort in employing 578 teachers in 2019 and the payment of minimum wage to civil servants in the state, which he said had spurred teachers to impart quality knowledge to the students.
He said the staff strength of the commission was 13,410, while 118 retired staff and 15 deaths were recorded as of August 2020.
In his response, the Chairman, House Committee on Education, Adekunle Adeyemi, said as the internally generated revenue of the state improved, the commission’s needs would also be looked into for consideration.
He urged the commission to do more in improving on the knowledge of the teachers, so as to impart wisdom and knowledge to the students, noting that it was imperative to engage the teachers in training and re-training exercise.
