By Adesina Wahab

The Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, in this interview speaks on the reasons for the introduction of a new welfare package for teachers in public primary and secondary schools in the country and the need for teachers yet to register with the council, to do so. Excerpts.

WHAT are the compelling  reasons for implementing the new welfare package for teachers

We have two major reasons why Mr. President gave those welfare packages for Nigerian teachers. One, how do we retain experienced teachers on the job? This is because we discovered that some states in the country have not employed new teachers in the last 10 years and experienced teachers are leaving the system in droves. So, it is important for us to have experienced teachers on the job. That is the reason why the length of service has been extended from 35 to 40 years and retirement age from 60 to 65 years.

Secondly, the new welfare package for students in tertiary institutions studying education is actually to attract the best brains to the teaching profession. We discovered that not many people want to take up teaching as a profession. And there is the saying that a society where their best brains don’t want to be teachers, their children will be taught by idiots.

So, it is important that we have to draft the best brains to the teaching profession. This is because the quality of teachers determines the quality of education and that is why it is important that the best brains be drafted into the teaching profession. And that is why Mr President considered it imperative to approve the welfare packages for teachers and student teachers.

Those were the two major compelling factors that made Mr. President to approve the packages.

Nigerian teachers have been left in the lurch for so long. The societal perception of teachers needs to be better and improved . Some people would say you cannot marry my daughter because you are a teacher or they cannot let out accommodation to you, a teacher and so on.  Nigerian teachers have been ridiculed for so long and we have an administration that wants to correct the anomalies.

We appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu for the great step. They said “let us look at the side of the Nigerian teachers and let us work at how we can redeem the image of the profession.” These are the major reason why these approvals were given by the president. It is meant to make teaching one of the star professions in the society. We know in some nations where they have quality education, their teachers are always treated excellently well. The same cannot be said of Nigeria. And that is why our president felt there is need to do things that would help to upgrade the teaching profession and by extension, the education sector in the country.   

Do you think the government has the financial capacity to implement the scheme?

You know before the approval was given, certain analyses were carried out and I believe strongly that given the interest Mr. President has demonstrated in the welfare of teachers, the government would find means and ways by which these goodies will be implemented for our teachers to enjoy. I also believe that the government is aware of the financial implications before the approvals were given. Some statistics were compiled and calculations made and that is why we have not yet come out with the final implementation strategy because they are still working out the details.  

Can the scheme take education to higher level without commensurate provision of infrastructure?

We recognise the place of infrastructure in quality education provision. The environment where learners learn is very important , but more important is the role of the teacher. We need quality teachers to drive quality education. That is very paramount. The teacher is the only permanent factor in the teaching learning context and that is why the role of teacher is very important. You can have a beautiful school environment, but if you don’t have quality teachers, you won’t achieve anything. But if you have quality teachers, even under the tree, the teacher would successfully teach the children and make them excel. Some of us can remember the conditions under which we learned in those days and the roles of our teachers in making sure we actually achieved what we achieved.

We need quality teachers to drive quality education. It is also not that we are downplaying having the necessary infrastructure. We want to make teachers feel like the professionals that they really are. That is why the welfare package is a welcome development.    

What are your expectations from teachers now?

To whom much is given, much is expected. We believe that when Nigerian teachers begin to enjoy these goodies, they will reciprocate government’s gesture by rededicating themselves to duty.

For teachers in private schools, we usually have problems with them because many are not qualified to teach, they have to buckle up. If they want to be real teachers, let them go and do the needful.

They may need to go for a professional diploma course in education or postgraduate diploma in education as the case may be to make sure that they become qualified teachers. If they want to profit from the job of a teacher, they must do the needful.

Vanguard News Nigeria