WORLD TEACHERS' DAY CELEBRATION IN NIGERIA: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY
WORLD TEACHERS' DAY CELEBRATION IN NIGERIA: THE GOOD, THE BAD,
THE UGLY
PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI HAS ADMITTED THE CHALLENGES CONFRONTING THE
EDUCATION SECTOR AND PLEDGED TO ADDRESS THEM HEADLONG
.
Buhari spoke in Abuja, on Thursday,
where he handed over the keys of a new Nissan Almera to Mr Okodo Clement Nwoye,
51, from Anambra State, for emerging the 2017 overall best teacher in Nigeria.
The award was presented to Nwoye by
the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who represented the president at
the 2017 World Teachers’ Day celebration in Abuja.
This is coming on the revelation by
the national president of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Michael
Olukoya, that as of the end of September, primary and secondary school teachers
were owed from two to 11 months salaries and allowances in 17 states across the
country.
Buhari, who pledged to continue to
motivate teachers towards improving the standard of education, said the
presidential merit award, in which the car was presented to the overall best
teacher, was intended to motivate teachers, school administrators and schools
at basic and secondary schools.
He said empowering teachers,
strengthening the teaching profession and the enthronement of quality education
delivery at all levels in the country were among the preoccupations and policy
thrusts of his administration.
He added that it was in keeping with
the government’s commitment to creating a conducive and safe environment for
teaching and learning to flourish that the administration, at inception,
tackled the issue of insecurity in the North-East and other parts of the
country.
“In spite of the appreciable progress
we are making in revitalising the education sector, it is still bedevilled with
so many challenges. These challenges are being systematically tackled and
addressed.
“The declaration of emergency in the
education sector and the launch of the ministerial strategic plan of the
ministry were further actions taken to consolidate the education
revitalisation,” he said.
Buhari also disclosed that in 2016,
more than N50 billion was allocated by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund
(TETFund) to colleges of education, polytechnics and universities to support
the training of their teachers to obtain higher degrees.
He said the Universal Basic Education
Commission (UBEC) had also invested more than N4.4 billion of the 2015 Teacher
Professional Development Fund in teacher training.
The president acknowledged that there
was more to do to bring the education system to a desirable level to meet up
with world’s best, appealed to stakeholders to pay attention to areas that led
to skills acquisition, entrepreneurship, creative and innovative education.
Olukoya, in his speech, condemned
states owing salaries and allowances due to teachers in spite of the bailout
funds made available to them by the Federal government.
He also condemned plans by some state
governments to hand
over public schools to the private
managers, saying this privatisation and commercialisation of education would
increase its cost beyond the reach of the poor.
He, therefore, called on tiers of
government to take necessary steps to check this trend and to increase
budgetary allocations to the education sector.
NUT DEMANDS 65YRS RETIREMENT AGE FOR
TEACHERS
THE NUT has demanded that the
retirement of teachers of primary and secondary schools in the country be
raised from 60 to 65 years.
Olukoya, at the event, said the
retirement age for teachers in the colleges of education, polytechnics and
universities was extended to 65 and 70 respectively.
He said that doing the same with the
primary and secondary schools would remove the segregation since they all
belonged to the same teaching industry.
“The more years a teacher spends on
the job, the better he delivers his service to the learners, given the benefit
of the experiences gathered over the years and the wisdom of age.
“The older the teacher, the more
caring and tolerant he is to the students with improved dexterity in the
pedagogy of teaching required over time,” he said.
Some teachers are drug addicts —Kebbi
gov
•Exams malpractices, indolence threatening
education industry —ASUSS, NUT
•Govs task teachers on
nation-building
From Jacob Segun Olatunji, Olayinka
Olukoya, Sam Nwaoko, Ado Ekiti, Hakeem Gbadamosi, Yinka Oladoyinbo, Kolawole
Daniel, Wale Akinselure, Bodurin Kayode and Michael Ovat
AS teachers in the country join their
counterparts in the world to celebrate the World Teachers’ Day, vices
threatening the education industry, including drug addiction, indolence,
examination malpractices, among others have been identified.
Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State
expressed concern over rising cases of drug addiction among teachers in the
state and urged the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) to help address the menace.
The governor, in an address to mark
the World Teachers’ Day in Birnin Kebbi, organised by NUT and Academic Staff
Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), said the government was also disturbed by
the scale of absenteeism among teachers.
Bagudu, according to the News Agency
of Nigeria (NAN), said the two unions must partner the government to address
the situation, stressing that “if we pay lip service to lapses in our
educational system, we are throwing away the future of our children and our
tomorrow’s leaders.
“I was at a community recently during
one of my inspections to schools in the state and one of the elders of the
community told me that nine out of the 11 teachers in that school are drug
addicts and they are well known in the community,” he said.
At the event, ASUSS chairman, Ibrahim
Garba, called for payment of promotion arrears to teachers in the state.
The NUT chairman, Ashshibi
Dan-Kakale, on his part, called for training and retraining of teachers for
better performance.
In Akure, Ondo State chairman of
ASUSS, Comrade Dayo Adebiyi, identified indolence and examination malpractices
as some of the challenges threatening to destroy the education industry in the
state, urged teachers in the state to join in the crusade to reposition the
education sector in the state.
“No one can fight these menace better
than the teachers
themselves. It is a crusade we cannot
afford to lose. Indolent students should be encouraged to face their studies.
Laziness should no longer be tolerated while examination malpractices must be
fought to a standstill,” he said
The ASUSS chairman also called on
teachers to be conscious of the security challenges facing the country and
should give priority to the safety of their students.
Chairman on the occasion and
secretary of the pan-Yoruba sociopolitical group, Afenifere, Chief Sehinde
Arogbofa, called on government to improve on the infrastructural facilities in
schools, to make learning easier for both teachers and students.
KOGI TEACHERS BLAME GOVT FOR POOR
STANDARD
Kogi State chapter of ASUSS, on
Thursday, expressed fears over the ability of the state to meet the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) on education by 2030.
The secondary school teachers
regretted that the education section had been declining in the state with
attendant effects on the students being produced by the system.
In a statement by its chairman, Ranti
Ojo and secretary, Ogwu Emejeh, ASUSS said there was the need for the state
government to brace up and rescue the sector from total collapse.
The teachers noted that the state
lacked the requirements to develop the sector like adequate manpower,
infrastructures and instructional materials.
BEST TEACHERS GET CARS IN EKITI
The 2017 Teachers’ Day celebration
witnessed the usual government car gifts to the best teachers in primary and
secondary schools and the tutor-general, with Governor Fayose announcing that
this year’s winners would, in addition to the cars, enjoy a week-long vacation
to either London or Dubai.
Fayose hailed Ekiti teachers’ efforts
in getting the state to come tops in NECO for two consecutive years, and
announced automatic promotion to grade level 16 for all level 14 graduate
primary school teachers ?in the state..
The governor also gave N100 million
cash gift to the teachers, which he said would be paid directly into their
personal accounts, while he also promised to increase the cash gift to N150
million if the NECO mad WAEC successes were repeated next year.
Meanwhile, the organised labour in the
state has said the detention of the Commissioner for Finance, Chief Toyin Ojo
and the Accountant-General, Mrs Yemisi Owolabi, by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) is delaying the payment of salaries.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in
the state said if the EFCC had anything against the government officials, it
should charge them to court rather than detaining them ad infinitum.
State chairman of NLC, Ade Adesanmi,
represented by his deputy, Gbenga Akosile, decried the continued detention of
Ojo and Mrs Owolabi, saying the “continued detention of the commissioner and
acountant-general is delaying the payment of salaries to the hungry workers in
the state.”
AMOSUN PROMISES TO APPROVE PENDING
TEACHERS’ PROMOTION
Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle
Amosun, has promised to approve pending teachers’ promotion just as he
approved the payment of outstanding leave bonus for public servants in the
state.
The governor stated this at the
Arcade Ground, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, on Thursday, adding that teachers as well
as civil servants would begin to receive their leave bonuses any moment from
now.
The Governor noted that the
importance of teachers in re-shaping and developing the society could not be
quantified, saying the celebration was an opportunity for the professionals to
take stock of their roles in nation building.
NUT calls for teacher’s promotion in
Anambra
The NUT chairman in Anambra State,
Comrade Ifeanyi Ofodile, pleaded with the government to look into the issue of
promotion of teachers in the country.
While pointing out that Governor
Willie Obiano’s disposition to teaching and learning was encouraging, Ofodile
also called on teachers to keep the faith as there was light at the end of the
tunnel.
AMBODE ANNOUNCES PROMOTION FOR
TEACHERS
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos
State described teachers as nation builders, change agents and catalysts for
the realisation of any meaningful, functional and effective education delivery
to drive national development.
Represented by the deputy governor,
Dr Idiat Adebule, the governor said experience had shown that teachers
performed better and contributed to national development when they were
well-motivated.
“We have approved the promotion of
primary school teachers to Grade Level 17 for them to be at par with their
counterparts in the civil service.
“We have also approved the
recruitment of additional 500 teachers to meet the population of our students
and reduce workload on our teachers,” he said.
Senator Oluremi Tinubu, representing
Lagos Central senatorial district, urged government at all levels to prioritise
policies that could improve the education sector.
NUT LAMENTS LOSS OF MEMBERS TO BOKO
HARAM
THE Borno State council of NUT
regretted the loss of one of their members to Boko Haram terrorists.
The state NUT chairman, A. Abiso,
regretted that his colleague, Zanna Wulgo, who was on a military convoy headed
for Gamboru Ngala for an assignment lost his life when he was left alone to fix
his car which broke down on the road.
“Our colleague, the chair of the
Maiduguri Metropolitan Council chapter of the NUT was killed when his vehicle
broke down in a convoy going to Gamboru Ngala for official assignment,” he
said.
OYO NUT WANTS REINSTATEMENT OF
TEACHERS ABSOLVED OF ALLEGATIONS
Oyo teachers celebrated this year’s
World Teachers Day with a call on the state government to reinstate those
teachers who were removed from the payroll but had later been cleared of
allegations of certificate racketeering, absenteeism, among others.
Chairman, Oyo NUT, Mr Samuel Akano,
at the Teachers’ House, Ibadan, said the reinstatement and payment of
outstanding salaries and allowances would end the misery of the affected
teachers.
“We shall forever be grateful for the
gracious approval of your Excellency for their reinstatement and payment of
their salaries and allowances which has been outstanding for more than one year
in most of the cases,” Akano said.
GIVE TEACHERS WELFARE SPECIAL
ATTENTION —PROF AKANDE
Professor Adeolu Akande,a gubernatorial
aspirant in Oyo State, has called on government at all levels in the country to
give primacy of place to the affairs of teachers.
Akande said Nigeria should learn from
the experience of the developed countries of the world where the
renumeration of teachers tower above many other professions.
“An instructive experience was that
of Germany where President Angela Merkel recently rebuffed agitations of top
public servants for higher wages than what teachers earn by saying she would
not pay them salaries higher than those of the teachers who taught them in
school,” Akande recalled.
Akande argued that as the people who
lay the foundation for every other professions, teachers deserved better
renumeration and welfare packages than they received at the moment.
Akande advised that the country
should move beyond the average annual budgetary allocation to education, which
hovers around 11 per cent and aspire to the 26 per cent recommended by United
Nations Educational, Scientifi and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), so that
pressing needs in the sector could be taken care of.
REPS WANT FG TO INITIATE POLICY TO
ATTRACT TEACHERS TO RURAL AREAS
The House of Representatives, on
Thursday, asked the Federal Government to initaiate policy that would attract
teachers to teach in the rural schools and remote locations in the country.
To this end, the House urged House
committee on Basic Education and the Ministry of Education to take on policy
that would create rural locality allowances and initiate annual retention benefits
of 25 per cent of annual salary for five years to attract teachers to rural
community.
The House also urged the Universal
Basic Education to liase with the state government in providing incentives to
rural teachers.
