Cross River pupils cannot read and write, says commissioner

Professor Offiong disclosed this during a meeting with Heads of Public Primary Schools from the Southern Senatorial Zone.According to the commissioner, “Above 50% of pupils in public primary schools in the state can neither read nor write even at primary four”. He said that in a recent research, carried out by the Ministry’s Inspectorate Department […]

Professor Offiong disclosed this during a meeting with Heads of Public Primary Schools from the Southern Senatorial Zone.
According to the commissioner, “Above 50% of pupils in public primary schools in the state can neither read nor write even at primary four”.
He said that in a recent research, carried out by the Ministry’s Inspectorate Department in some public primary schools, many pupils in primary four and five cannot read and write.
Professor Offiong called on all stakeholders, including head teachers, teachers, parents, the Board and the Ministry to work harder to ensure that the government’s policy on “Read and Write” is achieved.
The commissioner, however, stated that the education sector has witnessed remarkable improvement since the inception of the present administration, adding that the state was placed 6th in the 2013 West African Examination Council (WAEC) examination in the country.
As a way of checking the reason for the poor showing by the pupils, he has directed the head teachers to report non-performing teachers in their schools to the ministry for sanctions and enforce good hygiene among staff and pupils.
Also speaking, the Executive Chairman of SUBEB, Ntufam Joe Ebam urged the head teachers to be proactive and more dedicated to their jobs, emphasizing that as professionals, the teachers’ joy is when students are doing well.