Oghenero Orovwuje
Delta state government has assured teachers in the state of its commitment to ensuring their safety as the country grapples with security challenges.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, gave the assurance on Tuesday at the 2021 World Teachers’ Day celebration held at the Cenotaph, Asaba.
Senator Okowa, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Patrick Ukah, said it was imperative to draw attention to another aspect of the challenges facing the education system which bordered on insecurity.
He urge the teachers not to forget some of them and students in various kidnappers’ dens as they marked the teachers’ day today, as well as schools that had been shut down for safety and security reasons in parts of the country.
The Governor noted that it was incumbent on government at all levels to profer workable solutions to the obvious challenges facing not just teachers and students but the educational system generally.
Senator Okowa said the theme of the teachers’ day celebration “Teachers at the Heart of Education Recovery” was relevant and crucial to the present realities of the nation in view of the multi faceted challenges affecting the educational system in the country.
He stated that the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, with its disruption of social life and learning, had brought gaps in the education sector that needed to be closed urgently.
The Governor said to close the gaps, the school calendar was subjected to series of review to ensure the sustenance of the learning process.
He assured that his administration would continue to encourage and promote policies that would enhance the working conditions of teachers and the learning environment.
In their remarks, the Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu, and her Technical Education counterpart, Hon. Shola Daibo, assured teachers in the state that the state government would continue to provide conducive environment in public schools in the state to make teaching and learning more effective.
Also speaking, the State Head of Service (HoS), Mr. Reginald Bayoko, said teachers contributed immensely to the laying of foundation for peoples’ development and urged them not to relent as there would not be doctors, engineers, politicians and other professionals without teachers.
Mr. Bayoko urged all to take the issue of COVID-19 seriously and get themselves vaccinated against the virus.
Earlier in his address, the Chairman of the Delta State Wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Titus Okotie, stated that the Teachers’ Day celebration was an occasion for stock taking and sober reflection on the past, present and future challenges in their quest for making teaching profession a noble one.
Comrade Okotie commended Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for the completion and commissioning of the Teachers’ Professional Development Centre at Owa-Oyibu and expressed the hope that more significant improvements would be made to reposition the education sector in the state.
On his part, the National President of NUT, Dr. Nasir Idris, commended the federal government for the sustenance of the President’s Teachers and Schools Excellence Awards aimed at promoting excellence in service amongst teachers, administrators and schools in Nigeria.
Dr. Idris drew the attention of the federal government to the challenges of insecurity, non implementation of the national minimum wage, retirement age of teachers and shortage of teachers in schools and urged the teachers to remain committed to the ideals of their profession.
Others in their goodwill messages dwelt on the importance of teachers in the society and urged government at all levels to take issues affecting teachers seriously.
The ceremony featured march past by teachers from the twenty five local government areas where the SSG, on behalf of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, took the salute.
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