A college of education lecturer says parents and guardians in the state do not regard education seriously.

A lecturer at the Federal College of Education, Pankshin in Plateau, Chundung Shom, has said that more than 55.5 per cent of Plateau State residents are illiterate.

“One of the major challenges of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) is how to deal with more than 55.5 per cent of Plateau population who are still illiterate,” Mrs. Shom said in Jos on Wednesday.

The lecturer stated this in a paper she presented at a 3-day capacity building retreat on ‘Transparency and Accountability’ organised by the state Universal Basic Education Board for its education secretaries.

“Many children in Plateau are still out of school in spite of school enrolment campaigns being carried out by stakeholders in the education sector to increase the literacy level in the state.

“Low enrolment and disparity in favour of boys, higher dropout of girls in primary and secondary schools, restricted opportunities for the physically challenged remains the major challenges of UBE in Plateau,” she said.

Mrs. Shom said that constant strike actions by teachers discourage parents from sending their children to public schools thereby contributing to the high number of illiterates in the state. She said that the success of basic education in the state is the responsibility of all stake holders in the sector.

“We need to adopt modern management techniques of human and material resources to get result.

“It is only through good management and effective administration that UBE will achieve its objective,” she said.

Mrs. Shom commended the board for organising the retreat which was meant to build the capacity of education managers and administrators in the state.

She urged local councils to organise similar retreats for their teachers to ensure efficient and effective service delivery.

NAN