NAN-H-48
Teachers
By Martha Agas
Jos, March 4, 2017(NAN) Prof. Mathew Sule, Chairman, Plateau State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB), has charged rural communities to create a conducive environment to motivate teachers to discharge their duties.
The Chairman gave the charge on Saturday in Jos, at the Nigerian Educators’ Award, organised by the Centre for Educational Empowerment and Orientation (CEEO), in collaboration with the Plateau National Union of Teachers (NUT).
The theme for the award is “Teachers mentoring in the Contemporary Teaching Profession, Challenges in Nigeria, An Imperative”.
The Chairman, who was represented by Mrs. Sarah Ramadan, a permanent member at SUBEB, said that teachers would not run away from rural areas, if the communities supported in creating an enabling environment to motivate them.
“Teachers flee from rural areas communities and we blame that on poor working environments.
“One way to motivate them is to give them items locally produced in your areas.
“Once you make them feel comfortable and wanted, they will start lobbying to be posted to the rural areas,” he said.
Sule said that SUBEB was collating statistics of children, who were out of school, so as to initiate measures to return them to the classes.
He described the teacher as a key factor in the education sector, pointing out that nothing could be achieved without his input.
In his remarks, Mr Joseph Mairiga, the Plateau Commissioner for Secondary Education, reiterated the importance of education in nation building.
“Education is an agent of political and economic stability, so the teaching profession should be made viable through capacity building and teachers’ commitment to duties,” he said.
Mr Oyebisi Crown, the Programme Director of CEEO, said that the centre, which has been in existence for 10 years, had trained 200 school managers from Nasarawa, Benue and Plateau states.
He said that the centre was established to re-position the teaching profession as a noble calling and not a “dustbin for everybody who is unemployed”.
The Programme officer opined that the teaching profession should be exciting and lucrative, while sustaining its professionalism.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), reports that twenty four educators received Grand Teachers Mentors Merit Award, Teachers Mentors Merit Awards, Great Teachers Merit Awards, and the Nigerian Educators Financiers Merit Award. (NAN)
MAA/ESAN/ETS
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Edited by Abiodun Esanand Ephraims Sheyin