Basic and secondary school teachers in Nigeria were on Monday given some measure of incentive as President Muhammadu Buhari and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced packages to boost their welfare.
Buhari in his message to teachers to commemorate the World Teachers Day approved a special salary scale and new retirement age for teachers.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu while conveying the president’s message to teachers said that the implementation of the new teachers’ salary scheme was to encourage the teachers in delivering better services.
The special salary scale is for basic and secondary school teachers, adding that The president also increased the retirement age of teachers from 60 to 65 and the number of service years from 35 to 40.
According to him, “These were parts of ongoing moves by the government to revitalise and reposition the teaching profession in the country, by introducing fundamental and far-reaching changes.”
Read also: N2.67bn school feeding alleged fraud: Acid test for Buhari’s corruption fight
Lagos State Government on it part said it will send teachers to the United States of America for further digital training skills.
The Commissioner for Education, Folashade Adefisayo, stated this in Agidingbi, Ikeja on Monday during the celebration of this year’s Teachers Day.
Adefisayo, who did not give the number of teachers that would benefit from the training, said the beneficiaries would go as soon as the Coronavirus pandemic is over.
“We are now in a new normal as far as education is concerned. Teachers must move to a new level and embrace digital skills. The pandemic has shown us that school is more than the buildings. The Lagos State Government has been proactive and has been raising the digital levels and skills of our teachers.
“The pandemic has also taught us some lessons. It has made people to be open-minded and to take risks. Though our road was rough, we were able to find a solution to the problem,” she said.
Recalling how schools were shut down last March, Adefisayo noted that she wanted schools to complete second term examinations before being shut down, but some parents felt it could put the health and safety of students in danger.
She thanked teachers for bracing up to the challenges when schools were eventually reopened despite initial fears.
Speaking on the occasion, the Lagos State Chairman of the NUT, Otunba Adesina Adedoyin, while thanking the state government for promoting teachers and paying them regularly, noted that a lot still has to be done.
He urged the government to also allow deserving primary school teachers to rise to the position Headmaster General/ Permanent Secretary so as to enhance their career progression.
He also listed overcrowded classrooms, shortage of teachers and non-payment of retired teachers among the challenges facing the teaching profession in the state.
“We also want special allowances paid to teachers in riverine and rural areas so as to stem rural-urban migration. We also want our primary school teachers to benefit from the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme.
Buhari further said a review of teachers’ development policies had revealed huge gaps in the quantity and quality of teachers at all levels of the nation’s education system. Also, the status and stature of teachers were currently at their lowest ebb. Buhari said the implementation of the new policies was to attract best brains into the teaching profession and encourage teachers in delivering better services that would produce quality students who would, in turn, contribute to national development.
“Government notes the emergency situation in our educational system with particular reference to the dearth of qualified and dedicated teachers to enhance the quality of teaching and learning at all levels of our educational system”. He said.
Meanwhile, industry experts in the education sector insist that continuous investment by the private sector in teacher capacity development will tackle the challenges that high need schools face and unshackle them to contribute to economic development.
Lai Koiki, executive director, Greensprings School says that teacher training plays a vital role in the development of not just individuals, but also the society in general.
Koiki said that if managers of the economy understand what good education can do for an individual and the nation in general, then Nigerians need to be worried about the state of education in Nigeria.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
