The Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, said his administration spends N2Bn monthly on teachers’ salaries.
Governor Amaechi made this disclosure during this year’s World Teachers’ Day celebration at Isaac Boro Park, Port Harcourt.
The Chief Executive Officer of the state noted that teachers in Rivers State are the highest paid in the federation, pointing out that despite huge amount of salaries received, they still collect illegal fees from students which is contrary to the administration’s policy on free education in the state adding that the payment of school fees in the state has been abolished.
The governor who is also the chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) warned teachers who collected illegal fees from students to return them or face the wrath of the law.
He emphasized that his administration was determined to provide standard teachers in the state and stated that all teachers in the government-owned schools would be re-certified every two years which would go a long way to reform teachers in the state as well as urging them to be ICT compliant.
In an address presented by the NUT President, Comrade Alogba Olukoya titled, “Take A Stand For Teachers,” he noted that the World Teachers Day has been globally recognized as a day for the nation to say “Thank You” to her teachers and to take a leap towards further advancing its status, welfare and happiness as the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Education International (EI), the global Union of teachers advanced this course most eloquently when they asserted that “education is an investment in the future of individuals and society, on the eve of 21st century, the right to education is nothing more than the right to participate in the life of the modern world” regretting that teachers are not well paid despite their role in nation building.
He further expressed dismay on the decline value of the presidential teachers and school awards, such as quality of gifts presented to deserving teachers and schools in recent time and appealed to president Goodluck Jonathan to sustain the gesture to teachers by retaining the distribution of quality gift items like cars and other prized items to deserving teachers as was the practice when the idea of the presidential teachers award was initially conceived and commended president Goodluck Jonathan for initiating the idea.
In his address, the chairman of NUT in Rivers State Comrade Chief Moses Adiela (JP) revealed that the world teachers day came as a result of the international labour organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) recommendations concerning the status of teachers to the United Nation’s in 1966.
According to him, the submissions stated that the rights and responsibilities of the teachers are the same globally, adding that the paper was adopted by the United Nation’s organization as well as Nigeria that implemented it as her educational programme. He revealed that this year’s world teachers day theme was tagged, “Take A Stand For Teachers”, to know who a teacher is and make a favourable declaration for him, and a day of stock taking.
The NUT chairman who commended the state governor Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for all his support for teachers stressed that he has done a lot to better the welfare of teachers and making the education industry in the state the envy of other states of the federation such as regular payment of school salaries, free school sandals, uniforms, building and completion of world class primary and secondary schools among others, appealing to him to build a befitting Teachers House as it is in sister states.
Earlier in his speech, the chairman of the occasion, Prof. Vincent Asuru, commended Amaechi for his educational drive in the state. Prof. Asuru who is the head of St. John’s Campus of Ignatius Ajuru University, stressed the importance of education adding that teachers should revolutionize to ensure the good role of impacting good knowledge to students.
He enjoined teachers to be up and doing to take education to a higher level.
Other key note addresses include Current Corriculum studies and Educational Technology by Dr. Mr. A. U. Nwanekezia.
The highlight of the ceremony was the match past by teachers in various schools across the state. ##
Emeka Jilly Ejiowhor
