Posted by From Oluwole Akinboyewa, Abuja, Seye Ojo, Ibadan and Gabriel Dike, Osogbo on
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has expressed his government's commitment to enhance the teaching profession by integrating teachers into the computer age.
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has expressed his government's commitment to enhance the teaching profession by integrating teachers into the computer age.
Speaking at the 2008 World Teachers' Day and The President's Teachers and Schools Excellence award in Abuja on Monday, Yar'Adua said teachers as innate human capital essential in educational development, would be encouraged to learn the computer competence global skills.
Represented by the Education Minister, Dr. Igwe Aja-Nwachukwu, the president declared that besides making available the necessary incentives impacting on the teachers' welfare, employers of labour shall be encouraged to provide competitive remuneration, train and retrain teachers to stem knowledge obsolescence in a growing world of knowledge.
'Education is one of the most powerful tools for nation building. At the forefront of education is the teacher. He is the producer of human resources. Natural resources are necessary for nation development but human resources are more essential. The Federal Government is aware of these developments and is determined to increase ICT penetration and utilization and teachers will be encouraged to do that,' he stressed.
Addressing thousands of teachers' in Osogbo, Osun State, Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who was represented by the Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan, pledged to provide training and professional programmes for the teachers as a means of up-dating and sharpening their skills in modern teaching techniques.
Governor Oyinlola stressed that the controversial Teacher Salary Structure (TSS) would be promptly addressed by his administration and paid accordingly in due course, as well as improved their welfare.
On his part, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), extolled the virtues of Nigerian teachers, describing them as a group of professionals who have made invaluable contributions to national development despite great odds.
In a congratulatory message to teachers in the state on the occasion of World Teachers' Day, the Governor stressed that teachers play an indispensable role in the growth and transformation of any society.
Governor Fashola, while appreciating the role of teachers in the nurturing and guiding of children and youths through the lifelong process of learning, said teachers cannot but be commended by all right-thinking persons and urged them not to rest on their oars.
He said that the challenge before the Nigerian State is to appropriately compensate teachers for their labor and sacrifices over the years so that they can reap bountiful rewards on earth before enjoying those waiting for them in heaven.
Governor Fashola promised that the State Government, in line with the theme for this year's celebration, Teachers Matter, will strive to reward their inputs towards the education, growth and development of the state, here on earth in its own way. He noted that this is currently being addressed through the imminent implementation of the Teachers' Salary Scale (TSS), recently approved for the teachers in the country.
From Ibadan, Oyo State came reports that the NUT has lauded Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala for his timely intervention to frustrate the so-called authenticated which declared 3,000 teachers as ghost workers.
The teacher who gave the commendation through their chairman, Comrade Elijah Olusegun Dada also demanded that government allow them access to initial university education that would adequately position them to face the challenges associated with the job of imparting knowledge into people, especially the young ones.
Yar'Adua admonished teachers to appreciate their growing values and the profession in nation building, as a continuing source of inspiration in a growing technology world, in the plan of attaining international education standards in the country by the year 2020.