VAM News Update

THE Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun has approved the immediate employment of 1,000 Ogun Teaching Interns.

The recruitment was directed in commemoration of World Teachers’ Day, 2023.

The governor also approved the hiring of 2,000 additional OGUNTEACH applicants in addition to the 2000 interns previously hired, as well as the awarding of bungalows and cash awards to teachers who performed admirably for the State while carrying out their tasks.

Governor Abiodun, made the announcement at the 2023 World Teachers’ Day event, which was hosted at the Oba’s Complex in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, with the theme “The Teachers We Need for Education We Want; the Global Imperative to Reverse Teachers Shortage”.

He noted that the employment is intended to decrease the student-teacher ratio and fill open positions in public schools.

Stressing that the appointment of the new teachers takes immediate effect, he added that the administration is doing everything possible to improve the lots of teachers.

“It is my great joy to announce to you that Ogun State will be having an education summit soonest, for cross-fertilizing ideas by critical stakeholders in the sector, to proffer workable solutions to how to improve our education sector beyond this point and institutionalize the desired excellence in all our schools in line with the dreams of our founding fathers.

“To complement this initiative, we will be inaugurating an education trust fund to fund education infrastructure across the various levels.

“Also, a special committee on the rehabilitation of public schools to complement SUBEB’s interventions will be inaugurated soon.”

The governor reaffirmed that his administration places a high priority on the welfare and wellness of teachers along with its continued commitment to making education a top priority when allocating funds for the state and all local governments in order to close the sector’s deficit.

While listing some successes in the field of education, Governor Abiodun stated that his administration has started training 750 STEM teachers in a new pedagogy known as PSI-PMI to combat the traditional method of instruction, particularly in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.

The governor said he had ordered the distribution of promotion letters for 2021–2022, two months of leave bonuses for public employees, and other measures to encourage teachers to perform at their best.

“Our government also procured and installed the Education Management Information System (EMIS) equipment and gadgets to aid data collection, collation, and analysis in the education sector across the 20 LGEAs, among many interventions to prepare our students to compete with their peers around the world and also provide an enabling and conducive working environment for our teachers to contribute their best.”

The governor emphasised that, as a responsive administration, it is persuaded of the need to improve the situation of teachers in order to make up for their altruistic efforts to the betterment of society, as the level and quality of their production determines the future of the children.

He also harped on the need to address the teacher shortage in both Nigeria’s education system and that of sub-Saharan Africa.

Citing data from UNESCO, the governor stated that in order to achieve universal basic education by 2030, 69 million teachers, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, are required. Additionally, additional 24.4 million primary school teachers and approximately 44.4 million secondary school teachers are also required.

“According to the data unveiled for 2022 World Teachers’ Day, 5.4 million teachers are needed at the primary level in sub-Saharan Africa and 11.1 million teachers at the secondary level if we are to achieve the targets set by the 2030 Agenda,” he added.

The state chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Abiodun Akinola, praised Governor Abiodun for continuing the annual event and the Excellency Awards for the best educators in the state.

 

He also urged the government to hire more teachers in order to lighten the load on the current staff.

Felix Agbesanwa, the State Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUS), said that the world, including Nigeria, is currently experiencing an unprecedented teacher shortage.

He added that the goal of this year’s celebration was to stop the loss of teachers and to highlight strategies that would draw in, keep, and inspire those who work in the teaching field.