Dean School of Education, Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos, Mrs Eniola Adigun has launched a book entitled History of Educational Development in Nigeria: A Concise Approach.
It was a three-in-one event on Thursday for Mrs Eniola Adigun, Dean School of Education, Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos. The event was meant to celebrate her 55th birthday, three successful decades of being trainer of teachers and presentation of a book entitled History of Educational Development in Nigeria: A Concise Approach.
The event was held at Christopher Popoola Hall in the premises of the college.
The Special Guest of Honour and Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, praised the author for her efforts in writing the book which he said would be beneficial to stakeholders in the education sector. Represented at the event by his Permanent Secretary, Office of the Special Adviser on Education, Dr Shamsideen Allison, Ambode said the book would help in developing the state’s road map on education.
“We appreciate the sacrifice of the author. The state government has a road map on education and the book would help us in developing our road map. We know where we are coming from, where we are and where we are heading to,” he said.
Ambode further said the growth of the education sector is critical to the development of the state, noting that the educational sector is inclusive in the state’s development agenda.
“We are making great efforts this year to develop the educational sector. We are fast-tracking development in primary and secondary schools as well as the tertiary institutions.
“We are committed to the development of quality education and we focus a lot on the professionalism of our teachers. So much significance is placed on programmes as it will further help us in our efforts to develop the road map towards achieving the growth of the sector,” he said.
Mrs Adigun said the book is a simple one on the history of Nigeria’s educational development.
“I decided to do write this book because at a point in time, my students started seeing History as a voluminous subject and wanted to lose interest. I had to put in some efforts to simplify it, so that they can find it easy to read and understand.
“If a book is not simple and easy to understand, students would not want to read it. The book would be useful for all students of History in tertiary institutions,” she said.
She stressed the need for society to appreciate and corporate with teachers, noting that this would make the education system better, as teachers would put in their best.
“Teachers and parents are meant to work hand-in-hand. When we have a situation where parents are too busy making money and want the teachers to play the roles of parents and teachers, there would be a mix up.
“Another problem confronting the education sector is that some people become teachers because they could not make it in the other sectors. If we do not produce good teachers, the future of our children is at stake. This is why the government and everybody must give teachers the best.
“Teachers also must realise that the profession is noble. There is no profession that teachers do not teach. Teachers should see themselves as professionals and know they have a role to play in the society.
“This is a three-in-one event in which I am marking my 55th birthday, 30 years of teaching and the book launch. I feel fulfilled, happy and I thank God for His grace. I was 55 on February 3,” she said.
Head of Department, Adult Education, Faculty of Education, University of Lagos, Prof. Cecilia Oladapo, said the book launch is one of the greatest things that would happen in the education sector.
According to her, the author worked hard to contribute to knowledge, education and to leave a legacy for the young ones to let them know the joy of putting knowledge down for others to read and learn from.
“It is a welcome development and I would urge all teachers to emulate her.”
She noted that the major challenge with the education sector is that many teachers embraced the profession out of pity.
“Many embraced the teaching profession because they were unable to meet up with the cut-off points for other courses. Many parents do not want their children to be teachers and many of the students also do not want to be teachers. Because of this, education students are not committed throughout their years in school.
“Many of them continued to write JAMB during their first to third years in a bid to move to other courses. It is in their fourth year that many of them settle down. This is why we are not producing quality teachers. Many teachers are not passionate about the profession. Teaching is not meant for lazy people. As a teacher, you must be up and doing, current and ready to read; you cannot rely on past glory.
“Another issue is that teachers are not encouraged; most often they do not receive salaries as at when due. As a result, they may not be able to meet their financial obligations; this makes them look for a way to augment their salaries by going into trades at the expense of reading and preparing lesson notes.
Until government is ready to place premium on the education sectors, we may not be able to have committed or zealous teachers.
“The way forward is for government to improve the standard of education and let it be at par with other sectors. Raise the standard of teachers and give them the same salary level as others,” she said.
