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Tag: teachers

  • Teachers battle Dickson over six-month unpaid salaries 

    Teachers battle Dickson over six-month unpaid salaries 

    •May half salary rejected
    •Full pay for January demanded

    Secondary school teachers in Bayelsa State are at loggerheads with Governor Seriake Dickson over his administration’s inability to pay them since January.

    At the weekend, the teachers protested the governor’s decision to pay them half of May salary out of about six months the government owed them.

    Dickson had urged the teachers to gather at the Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha Memorial Centre in Yenagoa, the state capital, to get their salaries.

    But trouble reportedly started when the teachers discovered that the government was only willing to pay 50 per cent of their May salary.

    The aggrieved workers rejected the offer and took to the street in protest.

    But the governor, who saw the teachers in the morning during his routine jogging to keep fit, reportedly asked them to manage what was available.

    He promised to pay them the January salary at the end of this month.

    The teachers were reportedly angry because they were not paid in January when civil servants in some ministries last received their full-month salaries.

    One of the teachers, who spoke in confidence, said they expected the governor to pay them January salary in full first before negotiating half-payment for May.

    He said: “We got a message this morning (Friday) that we should come here, that they wanted to pay us our salary. The annoying thing is that the governor paid civil servants their January salary but he did not pay us. Now, he wants to pay half-salary for May instead of paying the January salary.

    “Even, he has not given us the January salary; February too has not been paid. There are still the March and April salaries, which have not been paid. But now, he wants to pay half of May salary when we are in June.

    “We were there at the Government House. We assembled in front of the Government House and the governor was passing by, after he went for jogging.  He called the leader of our group and told him to tell us to be patient and accept the half-salary for May. He said at the end of this month, he would pay the January salary.”

    The teacher also complained that the state’s chapter of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) was doing the bidding of the government.

    He said the leader of the union hails from the same local government area with the governor.

    “What we are saying is that we cannot accept half-salary for May without our January salary being paid to us. The January salary should be addressed,” the teacher said.

    But it was gathered that the teachers, under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUUS), sent a delegation to Education Commissioner Markson Fefegha to discuss the matter.

    ASUUS Chairman Oyinemi Eberedeni and its Secretary Pedro Igbudu led the delegation.

    They said the teachers rejected the half-salary and appeald to the government to keep the money in teachers’ account pending when the January salary would be ready.

    Following the protest, a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said Dickson later met with the teachers and approved full payment of the January salary.

    The governor said his administration placed high premium on the Education sector.

    He vowed to make the workers happy at all levels.

    He blamed the country’s dwindling economic fortunes for the salary delay, assuring workers that the February, March and April salary arrears would be paid when the situation improved.

    Dickson thanked the affected teachers for their tolerance and understanding.

    The governor advised members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) to cooperate with his administration.

    He added: “No reasonable government will ordinarily owe its workforce. But the present economic situation in the country demands that all hands must be on deck to proffer a lasting solution to the economic crisis.

    “The strike will lead the state nowhere. ASUU should be concerned about the future of the students and reason with the government.”

  • Teachers’ recruitment and paper qualifications

    Sir: During my school days in the 80’s and early 90’s we didn’t have many of the so called “professional” or “trained” teachers. Some teachers who taught Mathematics were either graduates of Civil/Mechanical Engineering or Surveying; it was common to find graduates of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Physiology teaching Biology. We had a graduate of Economics who taught English Language, and a graduate of the French Language who taught us Agricultural Science. Even though these teachers weren’t “trained” or “qualified”, they all had one thing in common: the passion and enthusiasm to pass knowledge on the students. This passion made them to go extra mile to ensure the students digests, assimilates and imbibes what is taught. Theirenthusiasm and passion for impacting knowledge was the impetus which made them outstanding and their exploits result-oriented.

    Today, over 90 percent of “trained” and “qualified” teachers teaching in primary and post-primary schools are holders of either a National Certificate of Education (NCE), or a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.). Even the privately-owned schools are being compelled to recruit only trained teachers with the above qualifications in order to meet up with standards, yet the sharp decline in the quality and standard of education which has continued to manifest through poor performance in examinations and in the low quality of graduates have persisted and continued to ravage the Nigerian educational system. True, we may now have had “trained” and “qualified” teachers; passionate and enthusiastic teachers are nowhere to be found owing to the emphases on paper and certificate qualification.

    To catch up with the rest of the world and restore the good old days of the Nigerian education system, the need to put in place a deliberate plan to de-emphasize paper-qualification in the ongoing 500,000 teachers recruitment exercise by the federal government is inevitable. Teachers should be employed based on passion and enthusiasm for the job, ability to impact knowledge should be the yardstick rather than being a holder of a certificate of education. The fact that a person has an NCE or B.Ed does not really translate into his ability to impact knowledge. After all, many of the early missionaries who brought basic education into Nigeria didn’t have education certificates. No matter their course of study, Nigerians with passion for teaching should be encouraged to take up the job.

    Nigerian education administrators should take advantage of information and communication technology (ICT) to update teachers’ knowledge to meet up with the challenges and realities of modern teaching and learning. For instance, Osun State initiated the “OpónÌmò” (Tablet-of-Knowledge),equipped with modern educational curricula for distribution to students of senior secondary schools. The Federal Ministry of Education should explore how the OpónÌmò programme could be improved and integrated, because it is indeed a step in a right direction.

    Elsewhere in the world, there are constant and periodic reviews of schools’ curricula.We shouldn’t expect our students to perform well in examinations while we continue to teach them almost the same things their parents were taught when there were no ICT advancement, DSTV, computer games, and iPhones, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, twitter etc. Education stakeholders should put heads together to orchestrate a complete overhaul of the Nigerian education curricula at various levels in line with modern realities. A country is as developed as the level and standard of education of its citizens.

     

    • Hussain Obaro,

    Ilorin, Kwara State.

  • Pay our arrears now, teachers beg Emmanuel

    Pay our arrears now, teachers beg Emmanuel

    About 478 teachers and non-teaching staff of six community secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State have appealed to Governor Udom Emmanuel to pay their 42 months’ salary arrears.

    The group, in a letter to the governor signed by Uwem Bassey and five others, said they have been denied salaries and other entitlements over the last five years that government took over the school.

    In the letter, the teachers recalled how they were absorbed from the school and posted by government with effect from January 1, 2013.

    The letter reads: “We were duly absorbed by the State Secondary Education Board (SSEB), with effect from January 1, 2013 and subsequently posted to schools. Since then, we have been working without salary or biometric data capture.

    “After series of appeals on the subject matter to the Head of Service, Speaker, Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Commissioner for Education, Permanent Secretary, State Secondary Education Board, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, a reprieve came by way of a directive from Akwa Ibom State government through the Office of the Head of Service for all absorbed teaching and non-teaching staff to report at governor’s annex on February 2015 for verification exercise.

    “Just January this year, we went to the Government House to have the attention of the governor on this issue. The Governor directed the Commissioner for Education, Elder Aniekan Akpan to dialogue with us to resolve the matter. Still, there has been no headway on the subject matter.”

    Akpan could not be reached to comment on the development as several calls to his telephone line indicated that it was switched off.

     

  • 120 teachers for Australian exchange programme

    Abia State government has approved an exchange programme for capacity building of 120 public primary school teachers with an Australian based Non-Governmental Agency [NGO], Precious Kids Education Empowerment [PKEE].

    The Australian educators, who are already in the state, have met with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for commencement of the programme.

    The Train-the-Trainer exchange programme is expected to hold in the three Senatorial districts of the state.

    President of PKEE, Mrs Vivian Peters, who is an Abia indigene based in Australia, said the training has been tailored to the needs of the state and would focus on classroom management, teacher-student relationship, first aid and security alert.

    Peters said that the inclusion of security alertness was as a result of the rising insecurity problems in the country.

    “We are very concerned about the security of the kids. The teachers would be put through on all the necessary areas that teachers would require to protect children while in schools,” she said.

    Peters said her organisation is partnering with the state because of its (government) commitment to the development of primary school teachers.

    A member of the PKEE training team, Alnoor Dawood, said the training would be interactive, “so that we can instruct people on how to teach in more interesting, engaging ways so that the students can learn better”.

    Also speaking, the Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board [ASUBEB], Mr Kelechukwu Nwosu, said through the training, Ikpeazu has demonstrated his appreciation to teachers and enhanced quality education at the primary school level.

    He said that the programme will complement  what the Board is doing in the areas of supervision of schools and training and re-training of primary school teachers in the state.

     

  • Associations train nursery teachers

    Over 250 nursery teachers in the Amuwo Odofin Local Government area of Lagos State last weekend attended a workshop put together by Mabysgold Montessori Centre, a nursery teacher training institute.

    The exercise was aimed at restoring professionalism in nursery teachers, as they are considered the foundation upon which children need to develop a firm and balanced background.

    Facilitator of the programme and national secretary, Early Childhood Association of Nigeria, Mr Ashimolowo Ademuyiwa, said the training was to offer a new orientation to nursery teachers.

    He said:  “We are trying to re-profile the nursery teachers and enlighten them more on endangered issues in nursery education. We are trying to end brute learning; we want children to be allowed to play again, enjoy their classes while teachers enjoy what they do.”

    Ademuyiwa noted that the event was the second edition, adding that the team hopes to reach more teachers in the state.

    “We are actually trying to move around Lagos to train 2,000-5,000 teachers so that they can begin to work in the best interest of the child. We started last month in Agbara Lagos, but we discovered that nursery teachers are not seeing themselves as professional. We are committed to reversing this trend and making nursery teachers believe they are not going to leave the job sooner than later.”

    Chairman of the Association For Formidable Educational Development (AFED), Amuwo Odofin Chapter, Mrs Cordelia Eboagu, also said of the exercise: “This is the foundation of education for children.

    “If you are building a structure, and the foundation is faulty, it will collapse after some time.

    “When you see students in tertiary institution having problems it is because there is something wrong with the foundation. Therefore, this seminar is trying to ensure these children are given proper foundation so that those teaching them will actually know they are teaching.”

    The high point was presentation of certificates to participants.

  • Engineers train science teachers in energy tech

    To bridge the knowledge gap in teaching energy-related subjects in secondary schools, the Lagos State branch of Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), last weekend, organised a workshop for teachers.

    At the event held at Dowen College in Lekki, about 50 science teachers selected from 20 schools in Lagos were engaged by SPE facilitators, who equipped the participants with cutting-edge curriculum about energy education and economy of oil production.

    According to the organisers, the workshop with the theme: “Energy4me” was designed with the objective to give science teachers intensive training in energy education to enable them transmit the same knowledge to pupils, who have interest in green energy and oil exploration technology.

    SPE Lagos Section chairman, Ernest Mkpasi, said the training was necessary, given the importance of energy in daily human activities. He said the workshop was part of the global campaign by SPE international to drive modern concepts in energy education.

    He said: “Our targets are young people, who may want to take career in the energy sector. We have adopted a novel approach by bringing teachers together in this training and equipping them with workable curriculum in energy concept. We believe the teachers would return to their respective schools and equip pupils with this modern knowledge. We believe the extent of using energy is a reflection of the level of development of any country.”

    In addition to the training, Mkpasi said SPE had established students’ chapters across tertiary institutions with the aim of exposing the student members to soft skills that would prepare them for managerial capacity. He added that the Society also initiated Students’ Technical Conference to discuss topical issues in energy sector.

    Mkpasi said the workshop would bridge students’ knowledge gap in theory and practice, adding: “This training is a way of giving back to the society. We need to boost students’ interest in energy to develop the sector using latest technology and concept.”

    The training was divided into eight modules. Some of the participants hailed the Society for workshop, promising to disseminate all they learnt to their pupils.

     

  • Joy, glamour as teachers get boats

    Joy, glamour as teachers get boats

    It was a day joy and fun for the teachers in Oriade Local Development Area and Amuwo Odofin  Local Government  Area  in Lagos. After years of yearning for modern  boats for ease of transpo-ration, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode  provided  them with four  speed boats that can carry 10 passengers.

    Inaugurating the boats,  Ambode, who was represented by the Commissioner for Women Affairs & Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Lola Akande, said  the project is part of commemoration of his first year in office.

    ‘‘In my inaugural speech of may 29, 2015, I promised to run an open government of inclusion that will not leave anyone behind. I promised that no matter your  age, sex tribe or any other status, as long as you reside in Lagos. We will make Lagos work for you.

    ‘‘This administration is focused on the people of Lagos and providing community driven development. ‘‘We have therefore improved on our security apparatus, intensified the provision of infrastructure to ensure an enabling environment for a viable and vibrant 24-hour economy.

    ‘‘The commissioning of these projects today rightly undercores our philosophy of inclusion.

    ‘‘Several roads and drainage projects have been embarked upon to make life easier and more business friendly for our people. We have invested a lot in the areas of education with provision of classrooms and classroom furniture; healthcare with the provision of ambulances and other equipment Centers, Security with the equipping of the Nigeria Police and other security agencies. The state has experienced improved physical and urban development, proper land administration and the illumination of our highways and streets.

    ‘‘I enjoin our royal fathers ,traditional chiefs, community development associations in our various communities to address the menace of cultism, miscreants and hoodlums and promote peace and clean environment at all times.

    ‘‘We are committed to a safe, secure, clean community. I therefore urge our community leaders, CDA and citizens of Lagos to continue to be security–conscious at all times.

    ‘‘You should also fulfill your civic responsibilities then the government is able to provide more infrastructure and better amenities for you .Government would therefore be able to sustain the socio-economic growth and transformation now being witness in our State.

    ‘‘Let me appeal to our elders, the youths and indeed the entire residents to guard jealously the infrastructure provided by the Government so that more projects can come to your communities again.

    ‘‘In conclusion , I thank you all and appreciate your belief in our administration as well as acknowledge the collective effort of the state and Local Government as well citizens in the development of our state.”

    The Executive Secretary, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, Hon. Modupe Ajibola-Ojodu, said: “We are proud to be part of this historic event that will go down in history as one of the greatest achievements of His Excellency.”

    The Executive Secretary Oriade Local Government Area, Hon.Bola Badmus-Olujobi, thanked the governor for  his achievements.

    The Education Secretary, Local Government Education Authority Amowo-Odofin/Oriade Local Development Area, Mrs. Atinuke Ogundiyi, expressed gratitude to the governor for the gesture.

     

  • District fetes teachers, pupils

    District fetes teachers, pupils

    Mrs Temitope Banmeke, a teacher at Oriwu Senior Model College Ikorodu, Lagos, has emerged the best teacher of the Lagos State Education District II. Mrs Banmeke who has put in 29 years of meritorious service in the state, was honoured alongside teachers and administrative workers at the 10th annual merit award of the district held at the SUBEB hall, Maryland, Lagos.

    Mrs Banmeke emerged after careful evaluation of her selfless attitude, hard work and other good virtues she exhibited over the years before she was recognised at the event which had as theme: “Aiming Higher.”

    The assessors acknowledged that Mrs Banmeke positively influenced teachers in her school.

    Mr Osundeko Idowu of Eva Adelaja Junior Girls Secondary School Bariga, won the ‘best teacher’ at the junior secondary school level’; Mrs Odunuga Olufunmilayo from Ikosi Junior High School, Ketu clinched the ‘best Junior School Principal award’, while Mrs Alimi Rabiat of Angus Memorial Senior Grammar School  Shomolu, won in the senior secondary school category. Mrs Afolabi Taiwo of Morocco Comprehensive Junior High School, Shomolu, won the ‘best non-teaching staff’ in the junior school category, while Mrs Adesanya Falilat of Oriwu Senior Model College topped the Senior School category.

    The duo of Agiri Esther from Oriwu Junior Model College and Oluwafemi Ifemide of Oriwu Senior Model College Olu won ‘the best pupil awards’ for their performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examination 2015 and the May/June 2015 West African Senior School Certificate Examination .

    Lagos State Civil Service Model Junior College, Igbogbo claimed the ‘best overall junior school’ while Ajayi Crowther Memorial Senior Grammar school won the senior category.

    Speaking at the event,  Lagos State  Deputy Governor, Dr Oluranti Adebule, who congratulated the awardees, also urged them not to relent in their contribution towards education sector. Mrs Adebule was represented by the Commissioner for Youths, Culture and Social development, Mrs Uzamat Akingbile-Yussuf.

    She said: “I enjoin you not to relent in your contributions to achieving our dreams of providing functional and quality education to our children. Education is the bedrock of development and teachers are strategic in helping to drive this vision to reality.”

    Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary (TG/PS) of the district, Mrs Margaret Solarin, said the programme was organised to motivate the workers and pupils to do better.

    “To maintain excellence, hard work must be rewarded so as to improve and increase efficiency among staff and students”.

    Cash and gift prizes such as deep freezers, washing machines, and cookers were presented to the recipients.

  • Tambuwal seeks more doctors, teachers as corps members

    To bridge the gap created by inadequate teachers and medical doctors in the state, Sokoto State government has requested for engagement of more youth corps members with specialisation in medicine as well as teachers of Mathematics and English Language to be posted for national service.

    Governor Aminu Tambuwal The made this request when the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig. General Sule Zakari, visited him in sokoto.

    The governor said with his administration’s emphasis on health and education, the need for more manpower is imperative towards complementing government’s efforts.

    “We need more doctors and teachers of mathematics and English language. We have a shortfall in those areas. Even though we will boost our manpower by employing more hands, the posting of the youth corps members will complement our efforts in that regard,” Tambuwal said.

    According to Tambuwal, government will repair all lodges used by youth corps members in all parts of the state, adding that a review of their allowances has already been approved.

    “We take the security and welfare of youth corps members seriously,” he added.

    Earlier in his remarks, Zakari said he was touring all NYSC camps to assess their readiness for the ongoing camping exercise taking place nationwide.

    He thanked the Sokoto government for prioritising the issue of youth corps members, saying it has boosted the morale of the youths and officials managing their affairs.

     

  • Akwa Ibom needs more teachers, says NLC

    The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said the state government needs to employ more teachers.

    NLC Chairman  Etim Ukpong said: “Classrooms in our schools are virtually without teachers. That is one sector where in recent times no employment has been made. For the free and compulsory education to be meaningful many things have to be done and one of them is to employ teachers.”

    Speaking during the 2016 workers’ day celebration at the Uyo township stadium, Ukpong also described as worrisome the activities of the herdsmen in some local government areas in the state, particularly the Ibiono Ibom.

    His words: “They invaded Nasarawa, then Benue with the horrendous massacre of Idoma people in Agatu and adjourning areas. Now it is Enugu. The workers and the people of this state say No to any part of Akwa Ibom being incorporated in the “Cattle Grazing Bill”