The Executive Chairman of Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Rt. Hon. Victor Olabimtan has described the theme of this year’s World Teachers’ Day. ‘The Teacher We Need for the Education We Want: The Global Imperative to Reverse the Teacher Shortage’ as apt and fitting.
According to him, apart from underscoring the importance of teachers as the makers of the building blocks of every societal development, the theme tallies with the focus of the state government under Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to continue to recruit qualified teachers to fill identified critical shortages in the schools.
According to a statement by SUBEB’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Bolu Ajijo, the SUBEB boss said that teachers are special bread of people that must be accorded their rightful positions in the scheme of things in the society as it used to be in those days.
He said that, while growing up in the 50s and up to late 70s, teachers are adored and feared by their students and respected by the society, adding that they are arguably the most adored members of every community, next to the traditional rulers.
Olabimtan, who is a certified teacher and school administrator before venturing into politics, called for a return to the status quo in respect of the place teachers in the society in order to properly appreciate their contributions to the making of modern society. “No teacher, no nation”, he said.
The former Speaker Ondo House of Assembly called on teachers not to lose hope as the state goverment would continue to prioritise their welfare and conditions of service. He used the occasion to inform teachers and educators that the government had approved their career tenure elongation to 65 years or 40 years in service, depending on which comes first for those interested in the new scheme.
Olabimtan, who eulogised the state government for its huge investment in the basic education sector, also appealed to teachers to be good examples to the students under them in conduct and actions in and out of school environment in order to be good a good role model.
According to him, in the last six-and-a-half years, the state government has expended over N22 billion on infrastructural development in the renovation, reconstruction and construction of over 900 school buildings and fencing; provisions of bole holes, laboratories, e -learning facilities and distribution of instructional material to mention but a few
The Chairman said that, the Board, in conjunction with the Universal Basic Education Commission, Abuja, has trained and retrained teachers with some of them going overseas to up scale their skill in order to deliver efficiently and effectively on the new curriculars.
While admonishing teachers to continue to deliver on their mandate, considering government’s huge investment in the sector, the SUBEB boss said the Board is already working on the recruitment of additional teachers to fill up critical vacancies in our schools.
The World Teacher Day, formerly known as International Teacher Day, was established by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation on 5th October 1994 as an annual event to pay tribute to the educators who play a pivotal role in the shaping of our future.
