WTD: Senate Wants Teachers Paid Before Lawmakers …As Rivers Legislator Praises Contributions To Nation Building

As teachers, yesterday, marked World Teachers Day, Senator representing Enugu North Senatorial District, Chukwuka Utazi has maintained that teachers in Nigeria should be paid before lawmakers and other public servants.
Speaking through Order 43 of Senate Rules, the lawmaker decried the pathetic condition of Nigerian teachers, saying that nobody wants to take to teaching profession anymore.
He lashed at how Nigeria elites chase teachers around the globe by spending so much money in sending their wards abroad, leaving teachers in Nigeria with difficulties.
“Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, I am saying this with all sense of responsibility that Nigerians should be encouraged in the teaching profession”, he said.
“In today’s society, people believe that the teaching profession is not a lucrative one and I know that we are getting it wrong at that. That is why most of us here spend so much money in sending our children from this part of the globe to another in search of teachers”, he added.
Utazi wondered how basic salaries of teachers were not often paid, thereby, discouraging people from the teaching profession.
He warned that if nothing was done, there would be dearth of teachers in Nigeria in the nearest future.
On his part, Senate President, Bukola Saraki expressed hope that there will be a roundtable discussion to discuss issues relating to the teaching profession in Nigeria.
Similarly, the lawmaker representing Degema Constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Farah Dagogo has applauded the resourcefulness and invaluable contributions of teachers over the years to nation building.
Dagogo observed that the functions of teachers were paramount towards national development, and as such, they deserve a fair deal in the scheme of things, especially in the area of improved welfare.
The lawmaker, who is also the chairman, Education Committee of the House, made this known in a statement marking the 2017 Teachers Day.
While commending the state government for its untiring efforts towards bettering the lots of teachers, he pointed out that nothing done for teachers can commensurate with the knowledge they impart on students.
“It is an indisputable fact that teachers are the core bedrock of how a society will fare. The knowledge they impart has turned out to be a potent instrument they wilfully churn out, which has conversely contributed immensely to nation building.
“It is then imperative that all of us, who are beneficiaries of this uncommon good that cuts across every facet of our society, recognise our teachers’ roles in our lives, and contribute our quota.
“As the theme for this year’s celebration aptly titled ‘Teaching in Freedom, Empowering Teachers’ shows, we owe it a duty to make meaningful contributions that will give teachers a sense of belonging in their profession as well as secure their future,” a part of the statement reads.
He further enjoined teachers to horn their skills on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), noting that literacy might not likely be determined by the ability to read and write, but by how well people were able to use technology to solve problems around them.