Ten thousand out of 22, 367 public school teachers in Niger State are to benefit from the N2 .1 billion motorcycle loan aimed at not only reducing mobility challenges to hard-to-reach parts of the state but improve their productivity.
The scheme, which was recently approved by the State Executive Council (SEC), the state Commissioner for Education, Hajiya Fatima Madugu, said was in fulfilment of the governor’s resolve to improve on the working conditions of teachers in public schools.
The commissioner said that the loan scheme was essentially for teachers in the basic education sector – primary and junior schools – teaching in difficult terrains or areas that are not motorable.
“Niger State government through the State Universal Primary Education Board (SUPEB) had approached a commercial bank to obtained loan to the tune of N2.1 billion to procure motorcycles to be given out on loan to teachers in primary and junior secondary schools.
“The N215, 000 each loan at 21 percent interest rate for teachers, headmasters and headmistresses is packaged to improve the welfare of our teachers, especially those teaching in rural areas and as an incentive to motivate them to be committed to their duties.
“After a thorough screening exercise with the stakeholders; Ministry of Education, SUBEB, the bank and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), 10, 000 beneficiaries of the scheme emerged out of the 22, 367 teachers in the public primary and junior secondary schools in the state,” Fatima said.
The scheme, which will soon be flagged off, the commissioner explained, has beneficiaries in all the 3, 166 primary schools and 60 Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) spread across the three senatorial zones in the state.
She further explained, “The repayment plan for the loan is 18 months and due diligence was followed by the state government to ensure only qualified teachers, particularly those who are not in any way indebted to any previous loan”.