• Fayose splashes car gifts, cash on 3, promotes others
By Our Correspondents
Mr Clement Nonye Okodo, a teacher from Anambra State, was yesterday, presented with a brand new Nissan Almera car, as the Best Teacher in Nigeria on the occasion of this year’s World Teachers’ Day celebration.
Okodo was among the teachers who were presented with different categories of awards for their outstanding performances in the course of their duties.
Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, at the occasion congratulated the teachers for their commitment and contributions to nation’s building in spite of poor condition of service.
He renewed his commitment to courses that would promote the welfare of the teachers irrespective of financial challenges.
Also, Ekiti State, Governor Ayodele Fayose, yesterday announced automatic promotion from to Level 14 to 16 for all graduate teachers in primary schools in the state and car gifts for the best teachers in the primary and secondary schools as well as the tutor general of the state, in addition to a week-long holiday in London or Dubai.
He also announced a cash of N100 million, which was paid directly into the teachers’ personal bank accounts.
Fayose lauded the teachers’ efforts in getting the state to come tops in National Examination Council (NECO), for two consecutive times, promised to increase the cash gift to N150 million next year should the success be repeated.
Fayose said: “I thank you so much. You have done very well and deserve to be celebrated. Today, you have put my enemies to shame by making me proud. They said I am not educated, but I have improved greatly on education in the state.”
Regardless, the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) has threatened to embark on nationwide industrial action if their financial fate is handed over to the Local Governments (LGs) as part of the campaign for LG autonomy.
NUT President, Micheal Olukoya, who spoke at the 2017 world teachers day in Abuja, yesterday, said they won’t hesitate to down tool (strike) if the move to transfer their financial destiny to local governments scale through.
He said: “Our concern was not the issue of LG autonomy, but the possible transfer of management and funding of basic education system, especially the responsibility of paying teachers to the local governments.
“To handover primary education to local governments would result in total collapse.”
Meanwhile, stakeholders have made a passionate appeal to the Federal Government to extend national honours to teachers.
The education stakeholders made the plea at a one-day fresher seminar/award ceremony organised by Covenant Educational Consultancy (CEC) as part of activities to mark the teachers’ day.
Chief Executive Officer of CEC, Mrs. Foluso Atilola, decried the non recognition of Nigerian teachers by state and federal governments and called for attitudinal change on the way teachers are treated in the country.
Prof Abiola Awosika of School of Innovative Studies agreed that teachers have not been accorded honour as expected. She said: “Nigerian teachers deserve more from the government,’’ she said.
Also, the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) called for training of teachers in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to make them more viable in the current digital era.
Chairman of ASUSS, Taraba State Chapter, Sule Abasu, made the call in Jalingo during yesterday’s celebration of World Teachers’ Day organised by the union.
Abasu said: “The best brains of yesterday might not be reckoned with today arising from modern technology. The digital children of today cannot be effectively schooled by the present analog teachers. We, therefore, solicit priority attention to these areas.”
Head of Digital Resource, Chrisland Group of Schools, Mr Sampson Kolawole Jesugbohunmi, corroborated Abasu with a call on Nigerian teachers to equip themselves with ICT if they still want to be relevant in the profession.
Borno teachers canvass upgrading of salary structure
In Borno, teachers canvassed upgrading of their salary structure to attain the highest level in the civil service like their counterparts in other fields.
Chairman, Borno State Chapter of the NUT, Bulama Abiso, said, at the World Teachers’ Day in Maiduguri, that teachers in the service of state government were desirous of being upgraded to Grade Level 17 like their colleagues in other professions, who are given the opportunity to rise to the level before retirement.
Abiso said appealed to the government to address the challenge to boost the morale of teachers in the state.
Similarly, teachers in Abia State, under the umbrella of NUT, appealed to stakeholders in educational sector in the state to prevail on the state government to pay their salaries and other debts owed them to save the primary/secondary educational system in the state from total collapse.
In Kebbi State, two factions of teacher’s Unions; ASUSS and NUT celebrated world teachers day at different locations.
While ASUSS marked the celebration at Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic, Birnin- Kebbi, NUT celebrated its own at the union’s secretariat located at GRA, Birnin-Kebbi. However, Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu attended the ceremonies of both factions and promised to partner every group of teachers in the state in order to develop education sector.
NUT faults ‘state of emergency’ on education in Adamawa In Adamawa, the state NUT Chairman, Comrade Rodley Nathan, has criticised the declaration of state of emergency on education by the Governor Muhammed Jibrilla led government He said: “All interventions are largely and squarely based on political considerations, with emphasis mostly placed on constructions, renovations and provision of materials, while the most important ingredient, the teacher, is neglected.”
In Kaduna, the NUT as well as its regulatory body, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) differed with the state government over modalities to test the competence of teachers in the state.
While the teachers’ union and the council want the state allow them handle the matter, the government insisted it would continue to assess teachers in the state annually.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State identified poverty as a new challenge facing teachers in contemporary Nigeria.
Speaking yesterday in Asaba at rally organised to mark this year’s World Teachers’ Day, the governor said “the importance of inculcating good values to our students, is daily undermined.”
NUT, Ogun State chapter, decried the decline in literacy level in the state and attributed the decline to the poor enrollment of school age children in public schools.
Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, said his administration has upgraded the terminal grade level of primary school teachers from Grade Level 14 to 15 and that they have also been enjoying the increased car and housing loan facilities instituted by the government.
Ajimobi said his government has ensured that teachers were actively represented on committees on issues of education policies and interventions.