The Executive Chairman of Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Rt Hon Victor Olabimtan has described the theme of this year’s 2023 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 the leadership of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN, CON to continue to recruit qualified teachers to fill identified critical shortages in our schools.
In a Press Statement to mark the occasion and issued by the Director of Press and Public Relations of the intervention Agency in the Basic Education Sector in the State, Bolu Ajijo, SUBEB boss said 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 while growing up in the 50s and up to late 70s, teachers are adored and feared by their students and respected by society, adding that teachers they are arguably the most adored and respected members of every community next to the traditional rulers.
Olabimtan who is a certified teacher and school administrator before venturing into politics called for return to the status quo in respect of the place teachers in our society in order to properly appreciate their contributions to the making of modern society. To him no teacher. No nation.
The former Speaker Ondo House of Assembly called on teachers not to lose hope as the State Goverment will continue to prioritize their welfare and conditions of service. He used the occasion of the celebration of World Teacher’s Day to inform teachers and educators that the government has approved their careers tenure elongation to 65 years or 40 years in Service depending on which comes first for those interested in the new scheme.
Olabimtan who eulogized the State government for its huge investment in the basic education sector in the State equally 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 areas of renovation, reconstruction and construction of over 900 school buildings, fencing, provisions of bole holes, laboratories, e -learning facilities and distribution of instructional material to mention but a few
In addition to this The Chairman said, the Board in conjunction with the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, 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 need for 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 v Scientific and Cultural Organization in UNESCO on 5th October in 1994 an annual event to pay tribute to the educators who play a pivotal role in the shaping of our future.
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