Every year, on October 5, the entire world takes a pause to celebrate World Teachers’ Day. On a day as this, we remember the labours of our teachers, particularly those who didn’t give up on us when we struggled to improve.
My teachers from pre-primary, primary, highschool to University; I celebrate you. Though you didn’t teach me all, but you taught me how to know it all – and that’s all in all. Whether you disciplined me with rods or words, you had a mission to mould me. Today, see what you have moulded of me and hope you’re proud of the reformed and reformer I am becoming. Above all, I am proud of myself.
No nation can rise above the quality of its education. We can’t go faster than our educational system. We can’t develop leaving education behind. Teachers are the true architects of society, shaping minds and futures – but it amazes me that we are not awake to this reality.
I have had the privilege of teaching at various levels – high school, Polytechnic, University including professional institutes. I have taught thousands and mentored hundreds. I have witnessed firsthand the challenges within our educational system. Some home and others abroad. Fact is – Education has shifted from a quest for knowledge to a race for grades. Grades are now for sale and knowledge is now far from the citadel of learning. Before now, cultism was the major threat on campus, but now drug addiction is a major anti-social distraction. It’s now the “onkolos age”
Why is that so? Government plays politics with education, teachers do business with it, parents ignore their own part and students become victims. Why? Teachers take home pay can’t even take them to school gate. Parents who are the first line of teachers, often prioritize pampering over discipline, leading to the decay of values in our society.
This is so staggering, but the following figures are even more? Globally, in 2019, there were 93.7 million teachers, yet Nigeria, with its vast educational needs, has only 2.3 million registered teachers. With over 20 million out-of-school children. So you see the teacher shortage is a pressing issue while the quality is more critical.
In Nigerian classrooms, overcrowding is the norm, with some states reporting up to 100 students per class, far exceeding the recommended ratio of 35:1. Hence, I ask whether SPEB, NSEC, NCCE, NUC, NBTE and the national ministry of Education would feign ignorance of all these anomalies. Why make policies without adequate provisions for resources?
Here is what I have come to realize that – like leaders like followers or vice versa. The same thing goes for many businesses and organizations too. Nigeria’s problem is larger than government. It’s systemic. Look around you and see how some employers/companies epitomize the very Nigerian failure in their business model. Are we ready at all?
Look at it this way. Teachers in Nigeria earn a median salary of NGN 70,000 monthly, a stark contrast to their counterparts in Luxembourg, who are the highest-paid in the world. It costs an average of N5000 daily to feed satisfactorily in Nigeria. What about transportation, accommodation, medicals, wardrobe, career development, social, family, environmental? How can a hungry man teach a child – who is even likely hungry too? How can you continually uphold values that add no values in return?
Today, let’s honour our teachers, those who inspire, lead, and dedicate their lives to shaping future generations. Imagine a world without them. Impossible, isn’t it?
Government knows what to do. Focus on the operational aspects of education begging for attention which include the training, recruitment and remuneration of teachers; curriculum development; improvement of learning facilities, parents-teachers collaboration, educational policy reformation and adequate funding. Having done this, then we can STAND in the comity of nations and development would be the norm. Happy World Teachers Day, Nigeria.
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