Teachers’ welfare crucial to attaining sustainable development in education, says Ambode
For any government to achieve the goal of quality education through effective teaching and learning in schools, the welfare of the teaching and non-teaching personnel is very crucial. To this end, the Lagos State government has stated that it will continue to place high value on its teachers by ensuring that their welfare, training, promotion and individual development are not compromised.
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, made the assurance to teachers in the state public service during the World Teachers’ day celebration held at the Teachers Pavilion, Central Business District, Ikeja Lagos.
The Governor noted that since no meaningful development can be achieved in education without the inputs of teachers, every responsible government must therefore prioritize their welfare since they are the driving forces behind the success or otherwise of government policies in educational development in schools.
Represented by his deputy, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule, Governor Ambode stated that his administration’s unalloyed support for the teachers from the inception is predicated on the belief that quality education for the citizenry can only be achieved when adequate care and attention are given to the teachers in addition to providing conducive teaching and learning environment.
According to the governor, “no nation or society can achieve meaningful development in education delivery without placing values on their teachers. As a government, our vision of providing the best educational delivery for our citizens can only be achieved when adequate care and attention are placed on our teacher”, he stated.
While describing the theme of the celebration: ‘Valuing Teachers, Improving their Status’, as very instructive and relevant, the governor stated that his administration recognized the significant contributions of teachers in achieving quality education which he said was the reason the state government has always prioritized their welfare through regular training, promotion, individual skills development , promising that his administration will do its best to ensure that teaching profession ranks among the best in the country.
He added that all the reforms that took place in the education sector since the beginning of his administration are such that give prominence to the teachers and appropriately reward them for their productivity. The governor listed some of the benefits of reforms to include the creation of the six educational districts which gives huge opportunity to more teachers to reach the highest height of their career as according to him more teachers are now being appointed as permanent secretaries / Tutor s Generals.
Governor Ambode also stated that his administration has kept faith in improving the standard of teaching /learning in schools through periodic training of teachers to reduce unemployment and to enhance quality teaching service delivery. Other areas of teachers’ welfare that the governor listed are capacity building and regular exposure of teachers through the Eko Project Initiative, ICT training development for teachers among others, annual merit award which is aimed at rewarding excellence among others.
While commending them for adding value to the goal of achieving sustainable educational development, the governor stated that through their dedication and commitment to duty, the state has continued to experience more improvement in the performances of students both at internal and external examinations conducted in the state.
According to him, “the breakdown of the 2016 WASSCE results showed a considerable improvement of our students’ performance with a record of 50.41 percent in public schools and 60.2 percent overall both public and private schools’’, he said.
Ambode therefore urged them to continue to conduct themselves in the most honourable way as teachers, parents and major stakeholders in the implementation of programmes that will bring significant improvement to the education sector.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the State NUT Chairman, Otunba Adesegun Raheem, said the celebration of the World Teachers day is the recognition of the pivotal role played by the teachers in the educational development of any country by the United Nation.
He noted that the socio-economic status of teachers in a country is a direct mirror reflection of its educational system, adding that it is incumbent on government at all levels to prioritize teachers’ welfare so as guarantee quality education that will bring about a better tomorrow for the country.
The highlight of the celebration was the cutting of the cake to mark the celebration of teacher’s dedication to duty by the deputy governor and other stakeholders in the teaching profession.
