As We Celebrate Teachers…

The United Nations (UN) on October 5, 2013
celebrated the World Teachers Day in
recognition of the important role teachers play in providing education to children and adults alike. With the theme: “A call for teachers”, the global event surely provided the platform for all other peoples to participate in the development of their communities through education.
The anniversary which was powered by UNESCO, an arm of the UN, in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO); UNDP; UNICEF and Education International (EI) was primarily targeted at bridging teachers gap, created by insufficient teachers, other barriers to better quality education and teachers’ role in developing globally-minded citizens and statesmen who can positively shape the world for better human existence and co-existence.
Because The Tide agrees with experts that teachers are about the most powerful force for justice, fairness, equity, access to qualitative education, the call for teachers at this point of societal development is only imperative. We think that only quality teachers can offer quality education, which in turn offers hope for a better standard of living for all classes of people.
Further more, we hold that there can be no stronger foundation for lasting world peace and sustainable development than the provision of quality education. There cannot also be quality education without well-trained, professional, valued, supported and motivated teachers.
Even when Teachers constitute an important factor in character moulding and society building, many countries still suffer huge shortage of professional, well-trained and well-supported teachers that can make the needed difference.
This is evident in many developing countries, where asides inadequate teachers, strikes and industrial disputes have also become regular features. The challenge of recruiting, training and re-training of teachers, which constitute the bedrock for quality education are also not properly addressed.
In many countries, teachers remain under-qualified, poorly paid and of low public image. This, perhaps also accounts for why many young persons have refused to take up teaching as preferred career option. Sadly, society at large has had to suffer the consequence.
It becomes even worrisome with reports that only about one or two primary school teachers in one of the northern states of Nigeria were able to pass a basic four examination. This is lamentable but should serve as the basis for Nigeria to do something about her teachers.
To start with, Nigeria must ensure that teachers training institutes in the country are well equipped and utilised. The country must also check if the crash-programme many teachers leveraged on are adequate for the needs of time.
If the needed quality must be achieved, education managers in the country must go back to the rule-book and ensure that policies and guidelines were followed. Indeed, those who have no training in education should have nothing doing in the classrooms. Nigeria cannot continue to leave schools in the hands of persons who are not able to find placement in other jobs.
Sadly, the privately owned schools have not helped the situation as standards are thrown to the dogs. Worse still, governments across the continent do very little to draw a line, below which no school should fall.
While we expect governments and appropriate regulatory bodies to take seriously the issue of quality in the education sector, the problem of indiscipline and un-professional conduct among teachers must be considered. Routine and regular inspection and monitoring are, indeed sine-qua-non for the way forward.
It is in this light that we commend the Rivers State Government for taking proactive measures by engaging 13,000 teachers, establishing Education Quality Assurance Agency and enunciating policies that would provide the right environment for academic activities. Already, the dividends have started coming with Rivers children in public schools now winning national competitions.
We expect that other states would emulate Rivers State in this direction and raise the quality of education in Nigeria. Even so, we support the call in some quarters for a National Teachers Day in the country to truly acknowledge and appreciate the role teachers play in nation building.