Provost tasks FG on implementation of TSS

Provost of Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Otto-Ijanikin, Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Ladele Aina, has said that for teaching profession to be given its deserved place in the society, urging the Federal Government to implement the Teachers Salary Scales (TSS).

The Provost said this while fielding questions from journalists at the end of the matriculation of the 1,789 full-time NCE students recently.

She also lauded the Lagos State government’s policy of making Yoruba language compulsory for any candidate seeking admission into any of the state’s tertiary institutions.

It would be recalled that the State government recently declared that any candidate seeking admission into any of its tertiary institutions must have a Credit in Yoruba, thus mandating all elementary schools to start teaching Yoruba as a compulsory subject.

According to her, this will preserve cultural heritage, adding that the decision is good because Yoruba is a rich language and the major language predominant among Lagosians and cuts across the generality of the state.

She, however, lamented that teaching has not been given due recognition in Nigeria, thus the need for motivation such as better welfare package, incentives, improved salary and strict recruitment into the profession in order to avoid quackery.

Aina said the College is reorienting the minds of fresh students admitted to the College to see teaching as a calling and do away with the perception the society has about the profession.

“The prime mission of an educational institution is to serve the educational needs if it’s immediate community with outstanding impact and innovation thus we prepare our new students to see NCE as a qualification that will enable them render quality service to their society as well as mould future generations”, she said.

Registrar of the College, Mr. AbdulKhadri Muhideen, however called on the State government to conduct recruitment exercise for the College, adding that this might hinder its transmission into a full-fledged University of education which is an ongoing process.

“It is sad to know that in the last 12 to 13 years no recruitment exercise had been carried out in this College which is the oldest tertiary institution owned by Lagos State”, he said.

The Registrar also called on the Lagos State government to release accreditation fund which has been approved since last year, stressing that the convocation ceremony has been put on hold since two years due to non-release of the money.

“The nation that refuses to invest in human capital especially teaching profession has missed it all because it is the mother of all professions and if that aspect of our educational system is neglected, then we get it wrong”, he said.