EDUCATION SERVICES

The Education Services Department (ESD) was established by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, on 16^th December, 2013, vide letter Ref. No. OHCSF/SPSO/309/1/42. The Department is saddled with the responsibilities of enforcing and maintaining the Standard of Education in the Armed Forces Primary and Secondary Schools Nationwide (Army, Navy & Air Force) totaling about One Hundred and Eight (108), with the staff strength of about Three Thousand Eight Hundred and Two (3,802) qualified teachers which include over 300 Directorate Cadre Officers who constitute the Education Quality Assurance Officers in the Eight Zones. The Department is headed by the Director Education and she directs and supervises the two Divisions under the Department.

MANDATE: The mandate of the Education Services Department is to monitor, evaluate and give guidance to the tri-service schools (Army, Navy & Air force), and other stakeholders in the Defence Education System, on the implementation of the National Policy on Education.

VISION: To attain the improved Standard of Education in all Armed Forces Primary and Secondary Schools and to enhance the welfare and continuous professional development of the Defence Teachers.

STRUCTURE: The Department is divided into two (2) major Divisions namely:

1. Teachers Management Division (TMD); and
2. Inspectorate Service Division (ISD).

These Divisions are headed by Deputy Directors who have Assistant Directors and other staff under them. The total No. of staff in the Department currently is twenty (20).

ACTIVITIES

1. Monitoring & Evaluation of Armed Forces Primary and Secondary Schools.
2. Professional Training & Retraining of Education Quality Assurance Evaluators in the Education Quality Assurance Zones Nationwide. 
3. Professional training of Vice Principals, Head teachers, Head of Departments (HODs), and teachers in the tri-service schools.
4. Participation in the Reference and Plenary sessions of Joint Consultative Committee on Education (JCCE) and National Council on Education (NCE) meetings.
5. Organization of co-curricular activities in the tri-service schools such as sports, speech and prize-giving, Quiz etc.
6. Participation in meetings organized by Education in Emergency Working Group in Nigeria (EIWGN).
7. Collaborating with TRCN on Data collection and collation and conduction of train- the-trainers workshop for Armed Forces Teachers.
8. Advocacy visits to National and International Educational Agencies and institutions to solicit for the training of teachers.
9. Production of Departmental Magazine/Newsletter periodically.
10. Involved in supervising the MOD Promotion interview for junior and senior staff.
11. Supervising of the Zonal Education Quality Assurance Office complexes under construction in Abuja, Lagos, Enugu and Kaduna.
12. Collaboration with FCT Ministry of Education on the training of staff on the conduct of School Census.
13. Mainstreaming and implementation of Safe School Declaration and its Guidelines in the Armed Forces Schools.
14. Monitoring and Evaluating the Implementation of the National Policy on Education as they relate to Primary and secondary Education in the Armed Forces Schools.

ACHIEVEMENTS/SUCCESSES

So far the Education Services Department has recorded so many successes by carrying out its activities. The Department has made the following achievements:

1. Creation of vacancies for the promotion of Deputy Directors to the rank of Directors who Head the various Zonal Education Quality Assurance offices, Nationwide.
2. The successful Registration of all Defence Teachers with their Professional Body, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). And the collation of all registered teachers to enable the Department request their training by the TRCN.
3. The well organized and coordinated familiarization tour to Armed Forces schools Nationwide.
4. The Successful conduct of the verification exercise for temporary staff in collaboration with Human Resources Management Department and Medical Services Department in November, 2014.
5. Organization of pep talk/in-house training on Secretarial duties, Administrative and Disciplinary procedures for the staff of the Department periodically.
6. The on-going Establishment of a teachers’ Data Bank;
7. The Establishment of Seven (7) Zonal Education Quality Assurance Headquarters across the nation making a total of Eight zones in Abuja, Lagos, Jos, Enugu, Kaduna (2) and Ibadan (2).
8. The Successful posting of promoted Directors to Head the Zonal Inspectorate HQtrs across the nation.
9. Facilitating the posting, conversion and upgrading of teachers effectively in collaboration with HRM Department.
10. An orientation programme was conducted for the teachers employed in 2010/2011 by the Department in Kaduna, Lagos, Ibadan, Jos, Makurdi, Enugu and Port Harcourt respectively.
11. The Education Services Department (ESD) has a good working relationship with Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and her agencies e.g. TRCN, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), and Education in Emergency Working Group in Nigeria (EiEWGN), etc.
12. The Education Services Department (ESD) celebrated the World Teachers Day on October 5^th, 2018. During the period, the best teachers in each of the Armed Forces Schools in Abuja were given award of plaque and cash. Also, the Head of the Abuja Zonal Education Quality Assurance Office and other deserving Evaluators in the Abuja Zones were honoured. This award was also extended to teachers and Evaluators in all the other Zones during the Monitoring and Evaluation Exercise of the schools.
13. The staff of the Department attend International Education Conferences whenever invitations are extended to them e.g. AFTRA, IFTRA, UNESCO etc.
14. Professional Capacity Building Programmes are constantly conducted for the staff of ESD, the teachers in the Armed Forces Schools and the Evaluators in the Zones e.g. Training on new approved Education Quality Assurance Instrument for Monitoring and Evaluation, Professional Standards, Data gathering and processing etc.
15. The successful conclusion of the Monitoring and Evaluation Exercise of the tri-service schools in the South West/Ilorin zones, North West/North East and South East/South South Zones respectively. Also, the appraisal of Sporting activities, equipment and facilities in all the Armed Forces Schools in 2018, and the just concluded appraisal of External Examinations for 5 years (2013- date), the Appraisal of Entrepreneurship subjects offered in the schools including facilities and equipment as well as the follow-up of the 2016 Whole School Evaluation (WSE) of the Armed Forces Schools Nationwide.
16. Provision of Office Accommodation for Outstations Zonal Education Quality Assurance Offices in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu and Kaduna.
17. Attendance at the Joint Consultative Committee on Education (JCCE) meetings organized by the Federal Ministry of Education.
18. Collaboration with the FCT Education Secretariat for the conduct of the FCT 2018/2019 Annual School Census (ASC).