Four days ago, teachers in
Nigeria joined their counterparts globally to celebrate World Teachers Day, a day set aside by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), to honour one of the world’s oldest and hard working professions.
Since its inception in 1994, one can hardly remember the year the event was widely celebrated as that of this year, particularly in Nigeria. Indeed, many people testified they heard about World Teachers Day for the first time this year. What could have made this year’s celebration seem so special? Could it be the level of publicity given to it both in the social and conventional media? Could it be that teachers realised the importance of celebrating themselves and went all out to do so?
It was indeed amazing how the day was commemorated. In many states, academic activities were called off especially in public primary and secondary schools to enable teachers participate in march past, seminars, road walk and other activities. Many state governors identified with teachers in special ways. Some made lots of mouth-watering promises after the teachers in the usual way, marshaled out their problems while others like the Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, appreciated some teachers in his state with the gift of brand new cars.
There were also a lot of programmes both on radio and television stations to remind the public about the importance of teachers in the society and the need to appreciate them.
No doubt, teachers play very pivotal role in any society. Nobody, no country can claim to be anything without the impact of teachers.
Incidentally, like the biblical saying of the stone that was rejected by the builders which became the corner stone, teachers in many countries are not valued. They are paid less respect, less money than those in many other comparable profession. The story of how teachers’ salaries are owed for months in Nigeria is no longer news. Successive governments  deem it unnecessary to invest in the education sector resulting in poor funding, staffing and training of teachers.
Even parents who expectedly should value teachers for the formative roles they play for the children, most time do the opposite. A teacher who was interviewed by a reporter during the just-celebrated World Teachers Day, narrated how some parents go to schools to abuse and insult teachers who discipline their children or wards for wrong doing. She said teachers are not motivated or encouraged by the parents, government and the society. The young woman made it clear that such negative attitude towards teachers was causing good, experienced educators to flee the ship of teaching.
Researches have shown that a greater percentage of today’s teachers in the country, take up the job not because they have interest in teaching, rather they are there because they could not secure better jobs. Every smart graduate, even those that studied education wants to be a banker, a politician, an oil company staff and others, abandoning the classrooms to the “unsharp, unsmart and unconnected ones.” No parents want his or her child to be a teacher. Not even teachers themselves want to encourage their children or any other person to take up the teaching profession so as not to end up poor,  wretched, not valued.
If these are not signs that teaching as a profession is in trouble in Nigeria then how can you describe it? This is a situation that should be of great concern to anybody who means well for the country, especially our leaders. Yes, World Teachers Day should be a period to celebrate and appreciate those who have kept the teaching profession alive in the country. But it should also provide our leaders, parents, stakeholders in the education sector and indeed entire Nigerians an opportunity to ponder on the future of the teaching profession and education entirely.
If education is truly the bedrock of any society, then it stands to reason that the welfare of those who run the sector should be of top priority. Teachers should be motivated, compensated, empowered to perform their jobs. Training and re-training of teachers should no longer be toyed with while at the same time, government at all levels should invest adequately and properly in the education sector.
Most importantly, one thinks that going forward, only those who are genuinely interested in teaching should be employed and trained as teachers. Making the teaching profession a dumping ground for all frustrated graduates will only help in destroying the education sector the more.
It is also advisable that teachers should see their profession as a noble one and be proud of it. This year’s celebration should cause the leaders of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) at both federal, State and Local Government levels to re-assess and rededicate themselves to their chosen profession by discharging their duties with renewed vigour and great sense of responsibility.
We need more dedicated, committed, passionate, smart teachers, especially in our public schools, not teachers who collect salaries even when they do not carry out their responsibilities to their pupils, students, the state and the nation. We no longer need teachers who sell all kinds of wares in the school premises, during school hours, abandoning their duties.
To save the teaching profession, both the teachers, government, parents and indeed every Nigerian has a role to play and the time to start is now.

Calista Ezeaku