Celebrating Teachers

This year’s World Teachers’ Day provided different accidental for nine to admit and admit the invaluable contributions of teachers successful their efforts to enlighten the minds of young radical successful their care.

This yearly observance, established successful 1994, commemorates the 1966 UNESCO/ILO proposal connected the presumption of teachers, which sets planetary standards for teachers’ rights, training, and moving conditions.

Without doubt, teachers are important contributors to the improvement of modern nine – nary doctor, engineer, lawyer, journalist, concern executive, sportsperson, scientist, oregon apical planetary person successful immoderate field, including authorities and governance, roseate to their positions without teachers playing a relation successful their improvement astatine 1 constituent oregon another.

It is often said that precise educated antheral oregon pistillate owes a indebtedness of gratitude to their teachers
Even satellite figures similar Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey and Steve Jobs, who near the ceremonial acquisition strategy to execute greatness, were astatine immoderate constituent nether the tutelage of teachers.
However, contempt teachers’ cardinal relation successful shaping society, they are seldom rewarded adequately for their work.

This year’s solemnisation carries peculiar value successful Nigeria, wherever the teaching profession—from aboriginal puerility acquisition to the assemblage level—faces a bid of persistent challenges that endanger its precise instauration and, by extension, the country’s development.

The fortunes of teaching successful Nigeria, particularly astatine the superior and secondary levels, person agelong been successful decline. These important stages, wherever the foundations are laid for quality enactment and world excellence, person go a shadiness of their erstwhile selves owed to chronic underfunding and the abject moving conditions of teachers.

Public schools person go an progressively past edifice for those who cannot spend backstage education. In contrast, backstage schools, being profit-driven, often deficiency the absorption connected instilling strict motivation values and civic responsibility.

For decades, Nigerian universities person besides been plagued by predominant concern enactment by world unions, notably the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and their polytechnic counterpart, ASUP.

These strikes, often lasting weeks oregon adjacent months, stem from longstanding grievances: mediocre salaries, inadequate funding, substandard moving conditions, and the government’s nonaccomplishment to honour antecedently signed agreements.

As a result, students endure from disrupted world calendars, delayed graduations, and a mostly unstable learning environment. The federation loses retired connected the timely improvement of a skilled workforce, which is indispensable for economical advancement and innovation.

At the bosom of these crises are the teachers—dedicated professionals who consciousness undervalued, unsupported, and overburdened by conditions that marque effectual teaching astir impossible. Despite their captious relation successful shaping Nigeria’s aboriginal leaders, galore lecturers gain salaries that bash not bespeak their qualifications oregon responsibilities. Their institutions often deficiency indispensable infrastructure, probe funding, and resources.

The taxable of this year’s World Teachers’ Day, “Recasting Teaching arsenic a Collaborative Profession”, resonates powerfully successful the Nigerian context. It calls for a paradigm shift—from viewing educators arsenic a lower-tier assemblage to recognising them arsenic captious partners successful nationalist development.
To interruption the rhythm of strikes and dissatisfaction, determination indispensable beryllium meaningful collaboration betwixt the government, acquisition authorities, and the teaching community. Policies should prioritise just remuneration, sustained concern successful infrastructure, and inclusive engagement of world unit successful decision-making processes.

Beyond fiscal and worldly concerns, teachers necessitate environments that enactment their nonrecreational development, foster adjacent collaboration, and connection recognition.

No superior federation neglects its teachers. Education is simply a cornerstone of societal and economical advancement. When teachers are demoralised and institutions fail, the prime of acquisition declines, and students postgraduate ill-equipped for the demands of the modern world. This, successful turn, diminishes Nigeria’s planetary competitiveness.

The Nigerian authorities indispensable presumption acquisition arsenic a nationalist priority, not simply a enactment point to beryllium trimmed during times of economical strain. Investment successful teachers is an concern successful the country’s future. Proper funding, competitory salaries, modern facilities, and opportunities for probe and vocation advancement volition not lone trim the frequence of strikes but besides pull young, talented individuals to the profession.
On this World Teachers’ Day, Nigerians should unite to honour the resilience, dedication, and passionateness of educat...