TEACHERS’ AVAILABILITY, SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study is predicated on the assumption that teaching manpower is critical to education service delivery which is a vehicle for effecting sustainable growth and development of any society. The study therefore analyzed teachers’ availability, supply, and distribution in public primary schools in Bayelsa State. The study was descriptive adopting ex- post facto research design. The population of the study comprised all 3,571 teachers distributed across the 547 public primary schools in Bayelsa State as of the 2022/2023 academic session. It was a census study; therefore, a sample was not made. A checklist titled: Teachers Availability Distribution and Supply Checklist (TADSC) was used to collect data for the study. The data collected were analyzed using percentages and histogram charts. Findings from the study revealed that the enrolment of pupils in public primary schools was generally low and varied by local government area. It was also found that teachers were not adequately supplied while the available ones were not equitably distributed across the eight local government areas. Lastly, the results of the findings showed that the existing public primary schools in the State require adequately qualified classroom teachers for effective pedagogical-related assignments. Arising from the findings, it was recommended that the State government should provide existing public primary schools with basic teaching and learning facilities including qualified and adequate teaching manpower; rural communities should be provided with basic amenities while rural allowance/incentives for teachers should be increased to promote high teacher retention in local and rural areas; teachers should be redistributed across schools and local government areas for equity, fairness, and effective utilization by relevant authorities like the State Universal Education Board {SUBEB} and the State Ministry of Education.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu/0798/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>