By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja
Teachers in kogi state on Monday,joined their colleagues in the country to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for giving them a mouth watering package in his speech to mark World Teachers’Day in the country.
The Reporters, an online publication, recalls that Buhari,in marking the Day, announced special salary scale for the teachers, free tuition and automatic admission for their biological children to pursue higher education.
The President also announced elongation of the retirement age for teachers from 60 and 65 among others among others.
The teachers, who spoke with our correspondent on the positive development, in separate interview in Lokoja, described the president’s pronouncement as a surprise package.
According to them,it would have long lasting benefits in their life, their dependants, especially the children, and their profession.
They also noted that the special package would boost the image of the teaching profession and serve as a motivating factor toward making more people develop interest teaching as profession and not a stepping stone to greener pastures.
“I don’t know how to describe my feeling in response to the president’s package for we, the teachers in Nigeria.
“He has really proved that he is a teacher friendly president, determine to improve our lot, our children and redeem the poor image many members of the public accord teachers and their profession,” Mallam Aminu Yaro, a secondary school teacher said.
A primary school, who spoke in the same vein, Mr Augustine Alabi said:” For me, this is the greatest achievement any government has done for the teachers in living memory and I thank President Muhammadu Buhari for this unquantified respect accords teachers.
“He has proved that it is highly the nation improved the lot of teachers, who are the critical stakeholders in human resources and educational development of any country
“It is often said that teachers’ reward is in heaven, this administration has changed that negative narrative,as we can now have our reward on earth, just like other professionals are reaping from where they sow.”
Other teachers,who also reacted to the development, with our correspondent however stressed the need for the implementation to the letter, the president’s dream for the teachers, as enunciated in his speech to mark the Day.
According to historical sources,Nigeria had its the first teacher training institution founded by the Church Missionary Society in 1859. … The Baptist mission followed the example of the CMS and founded a teacher training college at Ogbomosho in 1897.
In the same vein, the Wesleyan Methodist founded Wesley College, Ibadan in 1905. This educational development evolved over years and Nigeria can, today, boost of hundreds and thousands of educational institutions in its 36 states, including the FCT.
Wikipedia has it that the teaching profession became unionised with the formation of the Nigeria Union of Teachers(NUT) in 1931, to create a united front for practitioners of the teaching profession in the country, among other aims and objectives.
Www.Vanguard.com
www.kogistatenews.com.ng
www.thenigerianpost.com.ng
www.punchng.com
www.dailypost.ng
