In order to bring the best brains into the teaching profession and motivate those already in the system, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Arc Sonny Echono, has promised the federal government commitment toward the welfare of teachers and an upscale in their salary.
Echono made this promise at the Africa Edutech Conference 2019 organised by The Nigerian-Bristish Chamber of Commerce recently at the Havilah Event Centre, Lagos.
Echono stated that the federal government was not unaware of the various challenges facing the educational sector and there are policies, frameworks and engagements with stakeholders going on to address them for the benefits of today’s youth, but those policies might remain an exercise in futility if teachers are not well motivated.
“We are working on a special remunerations package that will encourage teachers and attract qualified and smart teachers to come into the teachings profession. Teaching has suffered and it is the bedrock of development within the educational sector.”
“In our times, the best students are retained in schools, they are recruited as graduate assistants because the natural law states that the person who knows more should teach others and not vice versa.”
“It is very unfortunate that those who can’t find jobs elsewhere will go and be teaching until another opportunity comes up and by policy, we encourage it. Teachings have become all-comers affairs when the cut-off mark to study education in colleges of education is the least which need to be review.”
“Stakeholders in the educational sector of government of readiness to facilitate growth and provide insurance for vulnerable children so that they can go to school while regulating the affairs of the sector.”
Echono further asserted that government should be a facilitator as well as an insurance for vunerable segments of the society, those that cannot afford to pay school fees to help them as a right.
“Beyond government responsibility, there is a shared responsibility among all stakeholders which include community leaders, faith-based organizations, business leaders, parents as well as students themselves so that the students can acquire the right skills and develop themselves for the challenges of the future.”
“We need to expand opportunities and ensure that we prepare our kids to take advantage of these opportunities. This economy has been contracting for decades. there are so many unexplored areas that we can The only you hers.”
According to her, the Director General of NBCS, Olubummi Afolabi, said that the conference was set to create convergence and pragmatic conversation among stakeholders in the education sector in order to improve learning outcomes among students.
“As a chamber, our interest is business but we recognize that businesses are not operating themselves but human being are the people who are operating the business and they have to be educated, knowledgeable and trained”.
