By Our Correspondent
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has approved the immediate employment of 1000 Ogun Teach Interns to mark this year's World Teachers' Day.
The gesture is meant to improve the pupil-teacher ratio and to fill the existing vacancies in public schools.
The governor also approved the engagement of 2,000 new OGUNTEACh applicants to the already engaged 2000 interns as well as a bungalow and cash prizes to teachers who did the State proud in the course of discharging their duties.
Prince Abiodun disclosed this at the year 2023 World Teachers' Day celebration with the theme: "The Teachers We Need for Education We Want; the Global Imperative to Reverse Teachers Shortage," held at the Oba's Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The governor said the appointment of the new teachers takes immediate effect, adding that the administration is doing everything possible to improve the lots of teachers.
He said: "It is my great joy to announce to you that Ogun State will be having an education summit soonest, for cross-fertilizing ideas by critical stakeholders in the sector, to proffer workable solutions to how to improve our education sector beyond this point and institutionalize the desired excellence in all our schools in line with the dreams of our founding fathers.
"To complement this initiative, we will be inaugurating an education trust fund to fund education infrastructure across the various levels. Also, a special committee on the rehabilitation of public schools to complement SUBEB's interventions will be inaugurated soon."
The governor reiterated his administration's high premium on the welfare and wellbeing of teachers just as it continues to prioritise education to be in the first line charge in expenditure for the state and in all the local governments to bridge the gap of deficit in the sector.
While reeling out some achievements in the education sector, Governor Abiodun said his administration has embarked on the training of 750 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers in a new teaching pedagogy called PSI-PMI to suppress the conventional approach of teaching, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.
To encourage teachers to perform optimally, the governor said he has directed the release of promotion letters for 2021-2022, two months of leave bonuses for public servants, and N10,000.00 payments to all public servants and pensioners in the state.
"Our government also procured and installed the Education Management Information System (EMIS) equipment and gadgets to aid data collection, collation, and analysis in the education sector across the 20 LGEAs, among many interventions to prepare our students to compete with their peers around the world and also provide an enabling and conducive working environment for our teachers to contribute their best."
The governor emphasized that as a responsive government, it is convinced of the need to better the lots of teachers to compensate for their selfless contributions to the upliftment of society, as the future of the children depends on the level and quality of their productivity.
While stressing the need to address the shortage of teachers in Nigeria's education sector and that of the sub-Saharan Africa, the governor quoting data from the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said 69 million teachers are needed mostly from sub-saharan Africa to reach universal basic education by 2030, while additional 24.4 million teachers in primary education and some 44.4 million teachers in secondary education are needed to achieve universal basic education by 2030.
"According to the data unveiled for 2022 World Teachers' Day, 5.4 million teachers are needed at the primary level in sub-Saharan Africa and 11.1 million teachers at the secondary level if we are to achieve the targets set by the 2030 Agenda," he added.
In his welcome address, the Special Adviser to the governor on Education, Science, and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu described teachers as great patriots who are in the business of molding young minds, appreciating them for their efforts in maintaining the State's standard of education.
In his goodwill message, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Abiodun Akinola, lauded Governor Abiodun for keeping fate with the annual event and for sustaining the Excellency Awards for best teachers and school administrators in the state, calling on the government to employ more teaching staff to reduce the workload of the existing ones.
The State Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUS), Comrade Felix Agbesanwa on his part stated that Nigeria and the world at large is facing the challenge of unprecedented shortage of teachers, adding that this year's celebration was to stop the decline in the number teachers and to showcase practice that would attract, retain and motivate those in the teaching profession.
Agbesanwa commended the Governor for implementing five years of promotion in four years for workers in the state, and for abolishing all levies in schools as well as initiating through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, various policies and interventions geared towards increasing students Higher Education Potential in the state.
Highlights of the occasion was the presentation of keys of 2-bedroom bungalows to Mr. Akeem Badru, the first African winner of the Cambridge Dedicated Teacher's Award and the best overall Teacher in public primary school from Egba Division, Mr.Togbe Ganiyu.
Others were cash prizes of N2 million to Mr. Amosun Temitope Olaoluwa as best teacher in junior secondary school from Remo, N2 million for Mr. Ganiyu Wasiu, as best teacher, senior secondary school category from Egba Division.
Ajayi Abosede emerged the best primary school administrator from Egba division with a cash prize of N1 million, Samza Omolara from Ijebu Division emerged the best school administrator in junior secondary school, while Kusimo Oluseyi was adjudged the best administrator in senior secondary school from Egba division with N1 million.
Baptist High School (Junior), Saje, Abeokuta, emerged the best in public secondary school and took home N7.5 million, followed by Remo Secondary School (Senior), Sagamu, which also went home with N7.5m.
Angela Otabo from Egba Division went home with N500,000 having emerged the best teacher in the private school category.
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