Our Department

The Honourable Commissioner is the Chief Executive abd reports to the Executive Governor. The Permanent Secretary is the Chief Accounting Office and reports to the Honourable Commissioner/Chief Executive, while the Directors of the Departments reports to the Permanent Secretary.

 

The Ministry’s presently comprised of ten Departments

amination Development Department

• Administration Department;
• Finance Department;
• Planning, Research and Statistics Department;
• Inspectorate (Basic) Department;
• Inspectorate (Senior) Department
• Curriculum Development and Education Planning Department;
• Science, Technical and Higher Education Department;
• Science, Technical and Higher Education Department;
• Education Services Department;
• Scholarship Department;
• Examination Development Department

;

The Quality Assurance Unit is under the office of the Permanent Secretary

 

THE EXAMINATION DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

The Examination Development Department, which hitherto was a part of the Ministry known as the Examination Development Center (EDC) is now a Commission under the Ministry, though yet to be established by legislation.

 

FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENTS

ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT

The Administration Department is one of the service departments and has the traditional responsibilities of staff control/discipline, recruitment, training, recording-keeping, preparation and forwarding of returns to the Office of the Head of Service, Bureau of Establishment and Pensions, Civil Service Commission, among other Government Establishment. The Department also oversees security matters, maintenance of vehicles, office buildings, office equipment, office accommodation, clean environment and day to day running of the affairs of the Ministry as the need arises. It is headed by a Director of Administration.

 

The Department is made up of units which include:

• The General Administrations.
• The General Duties.
• The Secret Registry
• The Open Registry.
• Records Unit,
• The Transport Unit

 

FINANCE DEPARTMENT

This Department superintends over all financial activities of the Ministry and is charged with the responsibilities of Co-ordinating, Organizing and reporting of all financial activities of the Ministry to the Permanent Secretary who is the Accounting Officer of the Ministry, the Hon. Commissioner, the Accountant-General, Auditor-General, State Planning Commissioner, Abia State House of Assembly, etc.

The Department has the following units:

• Director of Finance Office.
• Revenue Unit.
• Payroll Unit.
• Cash Office.
• Other Charges Unit.
• Internal Audit Unit.
• Reconciliation Unit.
• Adjustments Units.

 

THE PLANNING, RESEARCH AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT

The Planning, Research and Statistics Department (PRSD) is one of the mandatory Service Departments in all Ministries. Extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of Government.

The functions include:

• Co-ordination and production of strategic, short-term, medium-term, and long-term Sector Development Plans.
• Data collection and management for evidence-based Planning.
• Co-ordination, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Capital projects and Programs of the Ministry .
• development and Management of the Database and custodian of the Education Sector Databank.
• Co-ordination of Aid/Donor intervention programs.
• Secretariat to the Ministerial Tender’s Board.
• Secretariat to Special programs, projects and Events .
• Co-ordination and production of periodic reports on the Ministry.
• Co-ordination/conduct of researches on Education Policies and Programs.
• Liaison with Planning Commission, Federal Ministry of Education, Development Partners, and other relevant bodies.
• School Plans and School boundary matters.

The PRSD has divisions as follows:

• Planning division, with budget, tenders, SDGs, program Monitoring and Evaluation Units
• Research and Statistics division, with Surveys/Research, annual School Census/data collection, Education Management Information System (EMIS) as Units.
• Computer Operations division, with Units as Data cleaning/Entry, Data processing/publications, Processing/Issuance of data request.
• Technical/Works Division, with Units as School Plans, and School boundary matters.

 

INSPECTORATE DEPARTMENT (BASIC)

The Headquarters Section coordinates the activities of the department. It has four Zonal Offices, each headed by an Inspector of Education: Aba South, Aba North, Umuahia, and Ohafia Zones. Under the Zones are Area Offices in the Seventeen (17) Local Government Areas of the State which are headed by Area Inspectors of Education.

Key Functions:

• Conduct of regular and routine inspections, including spot check of schools.
• Conduct of Site Inspection, dome by Zonal and Area Offices.
• Approval Inspections of Nursery, Primary and Addition of Primary Six.
• Conduct of Subject Approval Inspections (BECE) of Junior Secondary Schools.
• Change of School names on Basic level.
• Conduct of full management inspection in collaboration with Senior Inspectorate Department for control and moderation of standards in the Public and Private Schools in the State.
• Revalidation of Schools at Basic level.
• Co-ordination of registration of candidates/conduct of National Common Entrance Examination.
• Provision of guidelines on placement of JSS 1 into Secondary Schools (taken by EDC) Examination Development Commission.
• Preparation of School Calendar.
• PTA matters.
• Investigations at the Basic level.
• Regular Monitoring of resumption of Schools.
• Screening of President’s Teachers/Schools Excellent Award in Abia.

 

INSPECTORATE DEPARTMENT (SENIOR)

The Department takes charge of Public and Private Secondary School matters in the State.

Functions:

• Regular monitoring of resumption of schools;
• Co-ordination of WAEC and NECO matter;
• Issuance of clearance to schools for SSCE registration of candidates;
• Conduct of reassessment inspection before SSCE subject approvals;
• Conduct of subject approval inspection for SSCE;
• Handles National Secondary School Mathematics Competition organized by Cowbell;
• Handles Schools debate;
• Conduct of subject approval inspection BECE for Junior Secondary Schools in some Local Government Areas.
• Draws academic calendar and insures smooth running of same;
• Carries out investigations at Senior Secondary School level as the need arises;
• Report on the implementation of Policies on Education from FMOE/NCE;
• Prepare Education Sector Plan;
• Establishment of read campaign clubs in schools and Education Road Maps
• Issues of “out of school children”.

 

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

The department has the following schedules which is organized into units according to their functions:

• Special Education/gifted children programmes
• HIV/AIDS Programmes
• Women Education
• UNICEF Programmes
• School Sports
• French Language Programmes
• Igbo Language and Culture
• Guidance and Counseling
• Nomadic/Migrant Farmers Education

UNITS:

• Special Education Unit
• HIV/AIDS Unit
• General Service Unit

 

1 SPECIAL EDUCATION Unit takes care of all Economic, Educational and Physical welfare of persons with special needs, including:

• The visually impaired/albinism.
• The physically challenged/orthopedically impaired.
• The hearing impaired.
• The learning disabled.
• The economically challenged.

 

SCHOOLS/CENTRS FOR PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN THE STATE.

• Abia State Centre for visually impaired persons, Abia State, Umuahia.
• Abia State Centre for Hearing impaired children, Aba.
• Abia State Centre for Hearing impaired children, Umuahia.
• Special Education Centre, Umuahia.
• Imo State Special Secondary School for the deaf, Ofekete, Owerri.

INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS: Some approved public and private schools serve as inclusive schools where the physically and visually impaired are …….. integrated. These schools includes:

• Williams Memorial Secondary Schools II, Afugiri Umuahia
• Danago Hope International School, Umuahia (Private Provider)

Admissions for persons with special needs into the special centers or the inclusive schools is the sole responsibility of the Ministry. Their education is government sponsored, free for tuition and feeding.

2. HIV/AIDS: The unit handles HIV/AIDS Programmes. Other arms of this Unit include: s

• Albinism
• Nomadic/Migrant School matters

The withdrawal of International Partners’ support of control of AIDS has adversely affected programmes in the unit.

The Migrant farmers school is handed over to ASUBEB after conducting approval inspection of the school.

The department relates with Albinism’s Association and ………. responsibility to pupils/students in ensuring that the albinos are given consideration during examinations for their challenge with sight.

 

3.GENERAL SERVICE UNIT
This Unit handles:

• UNICEF Programmes
• Early Child Education
• Women/Girl Child Education
• French Language Programmes
• Igbo language and Culture
• Guidance and Counseling

SCIENCE, TECHNICAL AND HIGHER EDUCATION

This department handles Science Education, technical Education, Higher Education in the State..

SCIENCE EDUCATION: The department is responsible to ensure that science subjects are being taught well in all schools in the State. To achieve this, the department ensures the adequate employment as well as equitable distribution of science teachers in the school.

The equipment of science laboratories in our schools is also part of the responsibilities of the department.

TECHNICAL EDUCATION: The department ensures that technical subjects are effectively taught in schools, especially in the technical college, by ensuring the equitable distribution of technical teachers and equipment to all schools.

HIGHER EDUCATION: Private tertiary institutions as well as state-owned tertiary institutions are supervised directly by the department

IN PRIVATE EDUCATIONS: The department embarks on routine visits to schools to ensure that standards are being met. Inspection of private schools’ laboratories, inspection/sighting of certificates of science and technological teachers to ensure that qualified teachers teach the subjects.

CERTIFICATE EVALUATION: The department is responsible also organizes science quiz competitions to assess the level of success achieved in the teaching and learning of science subjects in the State compared to other State.

 

QUALITY ASSURANCE

Functions: Some approved public and private schools serve as inclusive schools where the physically and visually impaired are …….. integrated. These schools includes:

• Train-the-Trainees workshop for Evaluators of Public and Private Schools.
• Regulated visits to selected schools by Trained Evaluators from the Ministry of Educations.
• Follow-up visits to selected schools by Evaluators from the Ministry.
• Liaison with Quality Assurance Department, Federal Ministry of Education, to keep the State abreast of the activities of the Department in the Federal Ministry of Education (FMEO).

 

SCHOLARSHIP DEPARTMENT

The Scholarship department came into being with the creation of Abia State in 1991. The department was in full function from 1991 to 1999. From 1991 to date, the Department only carries out the functions that the Federal Scholarship assigns to it, like distribution of scholarship forms for both Federal and Overseas Award, and Education Scholarship lottery Sceheme from 2000 to 2001.

The bills for establishing the Board was passed into law on 27th May, 2011, by the State House of Assembly.

The Abia State Scholarship Board was inaugurated on 6th September, 2019.

 

Functions include:

• Establishment and Management of Secondary Undergraduate/Postgraduate and other schemes as the Department may deem necessary.
• Grant Bursaries to deserving students of Abia State origin.
• Contribute to Federal Government International and other external sponsored schemes in the State.

The UNITS Scholarship department came into being with the creation of Abia State in 1991.are Local Scholarship matters, Overseas Scholarship matter, and Federal Scholarship matters.

 

SCHOLARSHIP/BURSARY SCHEMES: These include:

• Post-Secondary (Open) Scholarship Award
• GOverseas Scholarship
• Bursary Award
• Scholarship for the handicapped
• Women in Science and Technology Award
• Law School Award
• Aviation Scholarship Award
• Maritime Scholarship Award
• Scholarship for Sportsmen and Women
• Special Scholarship at the Governor’s discretion

SCHOLARSHIP Award Programmes from federal and Assisting Agencies are handled when they are advertised: Commonwealth and Fellowship Plan (CWFP) Award, Bi-lateral Education Agreement (BEA) Awards, Agbami Scholarship Award, Nigeria Award Scholarship, COWBELL PEDIA.

 

CURRICULUM DEPARTMENT

This department came into existence in October, 2003, when the PRS department was split into two, which brought about professional development and true educational planning in the Ministry. There are three units, namely;

• Core Curriculum Development and Implementation.
• Educational Research/Book Production/Review.
• Educational Planning.

Key Functions:

1. Core Curriculum Development and Implementation

• Production and distribution of Scheme of work.
• Monitor construction and use of instructional materials in entrepreneurial subjects, statutory records.
• Organize competitions on festival of instructional materials/entrepreneurial subjects.
• Liaise with SEMB/ASUBEB for competitions on festival of instructional materials.
• Implementation of entrepreneurial/trade subjects.Production and distribution of Scheme of work.
• Monitor construction and use of instructional materials in entrepreneurial subjects, statutory records.
• Organize competitions on festival of instructional materials/entrepreneurial subjects.
• Liaise with SEMB/ASUBEB for competitions on festival of instructional materials.
• Implementation of entrepreneurial/trade subjects.

2. Educational Research/Book Production/Review

• Book production and review.
• Educational broadcasting e.g. quiz, debates, competitions.
• Educational Research/Resource Centre.
• Prepare editorials/digest for the Ministry.
• Conduct of Seminars and Workshops.
• Monitor the Implementation and use of curriculum materials in schools.

3. Educational Planning

• Co-ordinates, analyses and evaluates JCCE/NCE Matters.
• Report on the implementation of Policies on Education from FMOE/NCE.
• Prepare Education Sector Plan.
• Establishment of read campaign clubs in schools and Education Road Maps.
• Issues of “out of school children”.