500,000 Teaching jobs on the way in 2016

The employment of 500,000 people as teachers is the highlight of the N6.08 trillion budget estimates for next year presented yesterday to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The proposal, the first by the Buhari administration, seeks to stimulate the economy, making it more competitive by focusing on infrastructural development, delivering inclusive growth and prioritising the welfare of Nigerians.

It is, according to the President, designed to ensure that “we revive our economy, deliver inclusive growth to Nigerians and create a significant number of jobs”.
The budget proposal, while helping industry, commerce and investment to pick up, will urgently address youth unemployment and the terrible living conditions of the extremely poor and vulnerable, Buhari said.
He said: “As we focus on inclusive growth, we are conscious of the current rate of unemployment and underemployment.
“This is a challenge we are determined to meet; and this budget is the platform for putting more Nigerians to work. I can assure you that this administration will have a job creation focus in every aspect of the execution of this budget.
“Nigeria’s job creation drive will be private sector led. We will encourage this by a reduction in tax rates for smaller businesses as well as subsidised funding for priority sectors, such as agriculture and solid minerals.
“As an emergency measure, to address the chronic shortage of teachers in public schools across the country, we also will partner with state and local governments to recruit, train and deploy 500,000 unemployed graduates and NCE holders.
“These graduate teachers will be deployed to primary schools, thereby, enhancing the provision of basic education, especially in our rural areas.”
The President said that they also intend to partner with State and Local Governments to provide financial training and loans to market women, traders and artisans, through their cooperative societies.
The belief is that “this segment of our society is not only critical to our plan for growing small businesses, but it is also an important platform to create jobs and provide opportunities for entrepreneurs”.
Buhari noted that through the office of the Vice President, the government was working with various development partners to design an implementable and transparent conditional cash transfer programme for the poorest and most vulnerable.