The Niger State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has appealed to Governor Umar Mohammed Bago to recruit Christian Religious Knowledge (CRK) teachers in public schools to instil sound morals in pupils and students.
The state CAN chairman, Most Rev. Dr. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who made the call in his goodwill message at the 45th Anniversary and National Conference of the National Association of Christian Religious Educators of Nigeria (NACREN) in Minna, the State capital, noted that teachers are employed to teach Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) in the state.
He said CAN has been calling on successive governments to restore the teaching of CRK in all public schools since 2003.
Yohanna, also the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, said, “Just to take us back, as of 2004, when there were about 152 public schools, we had only 120 CRK teachers in the state.
“In 2004, when Niger State hosted the National Conference of CRK Teachers, the statistics given to us by the government was 220 CRK teachers, including the non-qualified teachers for over 450 schools.
“According to the 2016 statistical data, the state needed about 300 CRK teachers for the over 300 schools in the state.”
He noted that teaching CRK as a subject in public schools could help address the high rate of social vices among youths in the state.
The cleric also argued that the best way to tackle youth restiveness, drug abuse, waywardness, disrespect and other vices in society is to teach children the way of God so that worldly affairs will not influence them.
He called on the government to make the study of CRK attractive for those in higher institutions to have professional teachers in the subject.
Earlier in his address, the National President of the NACREN, Rev. Dr. Reuben Maiture, called on the Federal Government to place more emphasis on CRK as it does with other fields.
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