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Worried by the threat of extinction of Igbo language, Abia State government has made the language compulsory in both primary and post primary institutions in the state.
The subject, the government said, will be taught from primary 1 level to Senior Secondary School 2 (SSS 2) level.
The State Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu who dropped this hint while briefing newsmen in Umuahia on the outcome of this week’s Abia State Executive Council meeting disclosed that the objective is to make children in the state to be grounded in the language.
His word, “The Igbo language which happens to be the identity of our people has been made compulsory in our schools up to SS2 level.This is to make sure our children are grounded in their mother tongue.
“It’s hoped that the compulsory re-introduction of Igbo language will help drive the cultural and social revolution that this government is embarking upon”.
Similarly, the government also re-introduced the teaching of History in its primary and post primary schools with immediate effect, even as he stressed the importance of History as a subject in the basic and secondary education.
“Any society that is interested in making progress must be deliberate about keeping its history. We believe Abia State has a rich historical background which we are proud of and we intend to tell our children and succeeding generations our history,”
On the ongoing teachers’ recruitment exercise, the information commissioner revealed that a total of 9,371 applicants have been shortlisted and that they would be invited for a computer based test (CBT) interview soon.
He stated that 5,000 teachers will be recruited after the interview, disclosing that the portal for application was shut down on 12th of February while the applications processed.
“The portal for the recruitment of teachers was shut down since the 12th February 2025 and at the last count, about 29,797 applications were received.
“Out of this number, 9,371 applications were shortlisted and the shortlisted applications would be made to undergo a CBT as earlier announced.
“Those who passed the exams would be invited for oral interview after which the successful ones would be hired. The process of recruitment of these teachers has been designed to be transparent and merit based”, Prince Kanu said.
The Commissioner used the opportunity to announce that on Wednesday the 26th of February 2025 ,Governor Alex Otti would be unveiling a major educational programme tagged ABIAFIRST with the theme, “Re-imagining Education in Abia, Unleashing the Potential of Every Abia Youth”.
He described the programme as a visionary project that will revolutionize the educational system in the state and create world class educational opportunities for every Abia child.
In his own comment, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Elder Goodluck Ubochi, explained that though History has been made compulsory in the past, most of the things taught in History tend to be a repetition of Civic Education.
Said he, “there is a new curriculum that is about to be released. It has been approved. By next academic year that new curriculum will be on board.
“But one good thing is that the state has the right to adjust a curriculum as it suits us.
“So, we are going to rejig the curriculum to bring those historical facts for which we are known into the curriculum so that a child who goes through secondary education will be able to know the basic history that makes Igbos very different from any others”.
“After reviewing the level of influx of children in our schools because of the free and compulsory education, we had to request the governor to approve for us a higher number. By the time we are through with this process ,about 5,000 teachers would be employed”.
At the briefing were Special Adviser to the Governor on Monitoring and Evaluation, Mazi Ugochukwu Okoroafor, his Media/ Publicity counterpart, Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma and Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Ukoha Njoku Ukoha.
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