NANFeatures/Vol.11/No.150/2017 (Oct. 26)
Empowering teachers for national development
A News Analysis by Funmilayo Adeyemi and Jacinta Nwachukwu, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) observes that there is need to motivate teachers because of their roles in the society.
He, nonetheless, expresses concern about the outcome of a survey conducted in 2010 which recorded 207,818 as unqualified teachers in primary schools across the country.
Speaking at an event in Abuja to mark the 2017 World Teachers Day recently, he recommended good training and retraining for teachers to build the country’s educational system.
“The quality and quantity of teachers demand a strong policy response; rebuilding the system should take into account how the once cherished vocation, the mother of all professions, should attract the best brains and retain them.
“Professional training is critical just as mastery of subject matter, teachers’ welfare and an environment that promote learning,’’ he said.
Ajiboye, therefore, called on the Federal Government to create education-friendly environment to enable teachers to practise the profession efficiently.
He promised that the council would continue its mandate of ensuring the use of qualified teachers in both public and private schools in the country.
“The private schools now know that it is not going to be business as usual; we have a pool of teachers that are qualified and we will ensure that they are engaged effectively,’’ he promised.
He said the era of using secondary school certificate holders as teachers had gone, noting that as from next year, TRCN would begin monitoring and it would not spare any school, both public and private that contravened the directive.
“We are going to get some consultants to join us because we know we have a large number of private schools in Nigeria and when we are talking of unqualified teachers, the large number is found in private schools.
“So, if their teachers are not yet qualified, there are so many programmes; they can quickly go and upgrade to get them qualified because we are going to send unqualified teachers away from the classrooms,’’ he cautioned.
Ajiboye, nonetheless, noted that the development was not aimed at removing anyone from his job but “there are mandatory periods within which you must get qualified.
“If you fail to do so, we are not the one that will send you out but you are the one sending yourself out of the teaching profession.
“You will not see a person that is not a lawyer standing before the judge in the court; we will not allow again anybody that is not a qualified teacher to stand in front of our children to teach them.’’
Education stakeholders observe that with these promises, challenges in the educational sector will be minimal and there will be unhindered service delivery by teachers.
They hold out a belief that teachers, to a great extent, determine the effectiveness of educational policies as the implementer of the curriculum.
In his opinion, Mr Michael Olukoya, the National President, Nigeria Union of Teachers, said there ought to be the rebirth of the consciousness of nations and citizenry to the important role of teachers.
According to him, the challenges that teachers face have continued to adversely affect the teachers, their relationship and educational service delivery.
He noted that a lot of teachers had died as a result of their deplorable conditions occasioned by nonchalant and ignoble attitude of their employers at various levels.
He also called on the government at all levels to empower teachers in the areas of decent, safe and healthy working environment.
“They should ensure teachers are valued, honoured and respected and this entails the provision of good working environment.
“Indeed, Nigerian teachers, like their counterparts elsewhere in the world, deserve to be empowered and be accorded their rightful status so as to enable them carry out their professional tasks optimally,’’ he said.
Assuring the teachers of his support, Malam Adamu Adamu, the Minister of Education, pledged to evolve better welfare and support scheme for teachers, especially in the payment of the backlog of salaries and effective training for teachers.
He said efforts had been made by the present administration to ensure that backlog of teachers’ salaries were paid.
According to him, the Federal Government has given funds to state governments to settle teachers’ salaries owed for months.
“We are concerned about the welfare of teachers and we will ensure that Nigerian teachers receive their salaries as and when due,’’ the minister said.
He said that this year’s World teachers Day theme: “Teaching in Freedom: Empowering Teachers for the 21st Century Challenges’’, re-affirmed the fact that peace and security were necessary for the development of any nation.
Adamu also observed that no economic growth could be guaranteed without the positive atmosphere of peace and freedom.
“Education, which guarantees economic growth and development, can only thrive and be positively imparted under the atmosphere of peace, freedom and security.
“Freedom here implies freedom from fear, chaos, harassment, retardation and degradation, teachers deserve to be appreciated for their great role in nation building,’’ he said.(NANFeatures)
**If used, please credit the writer as well as News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)