World Teachers’ Day: Okowa Lauds Nigerian Teachers’ Contribution To Educational Development 

… Says His Administration Is Committed To Teachers Welfare

As teachers in Nigeria join their counterparts all over the world to celebrate International Teachers Day, Delta State Governor Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has hailed the commitment of teachers in Nigeria to the development of the educational sector.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Aniagwu in Asaba on Friday, Governor Okowa said this year’s emphasis on qualified teachers, echoes the idea that you cannot have genuine or quality education without qualified, committed and competent teachers.

As emphasised by the Nigerian National Policy on Education, “Teachers are central to educational planning as no educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers”. As teachers are saddled with the responsibility of inculcating good values to our students, it is important that our teachers improve on the quality of teaching so as to improve on the standard of education in the country.

As moral decadence continues to be the bane of our society, the onus is on teachers to not just teach but also inculcate the right moral values on our students.

While noting that the theme for this year’s celebration, ‘The right to education means the right to a quality teacher’ was apt, Governor Okowa said, “at all times, we should take time to consider in earnest, the need for teachers to acquire the right certifications to enable them compete head to head with their counterparts from other countries,”

“Indeed, if our aim is to change the world as we know it, we can only do so by setting the hearts and minds of our students on fire for knowledge; and if we are to succeed in this direction, our teachers must update their knowledge bank as it is not possible to give what you don’t have,” he emphasised.

The statement further quoted the Governor as saying, “the empowerment of teachers has always been our priority, more so, now that the United Nations has adopted it as the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal for Education; my administration places high premium on education which was evident on assumption of office on 29 May, 2015, when we made education one of our top priority areas as encapsulated in our SMART Agenda.

“The welfare of teachers, including payment of salaries, promotions, training and sundry obligations, have continued to occupy centre stage in this administration, in spite of very limited resources in the midst of current recession coupled with the huge workforce in the State.

“In our avowed commitment towards ensuring quality teachers in our state, we are constructing a Teachers Development Centre for the training and retraining of teachers” he added

He commended the Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT led by the State Chairman, Comrade Titus Okotie for partnering with his administration in moving education forward.