Let teachers earn their earthly rewards

SEVERAL times, I have had cause to ask how we have felt when we meet with any of our former primary or secondary school teachers. In most cases, I felt dignified that God has kept him or her alive and strong to witness one of his students graduate to be in the position that I am; while in some cases, I wished he or she didn’t travel that road, as a teacher. The mere sight of some of them reduces their sacrifices over the years and further warns many who have had love for the profession.

But truth be told, there are times we run through some of our old teachers at events or eateries and involuntarily curse the day they chose teaching, as a result of the level of depravity they have gone through over the years; to the point that one is tempted to think they are not the ones who once stood before the class impacting knowledge on us.

Before October 5, 2020, it was a thing of concern that Nigerian teachers don’t get treated as they should. In several saner climes, the teacher has a special place reserved for him. Here in Nigeria, the mere mention of the word evokes pitiable emotions, to the point that don’t need to be told of the conditions the teacher has been made to go through.

If I was a teacher and living in Nigeria, I have every reason to think this should be the best time to be one. I have every reason to be, what with the new development of the recognition of the place of the teacher. One hopes they are not mere political statements intended to hoodwink into believing something different is being thought of the teacher.

All the indignities we may have known to be the lot of the teacher have been taken away or so we are told. They are by reason of what has happened are now kings and queens, for that is what they should be if we truly have to establish them as so. In other saner climes the teacher is treated with respect and elevated above other workers; in fact, they are better remunerated and paid due attention.

Until now, the Nigerian teacher has never been considered to get his reward on earth; no wonder, it is often said that a ‘teacher’s reward is in heaven not on earth. That is reason why at the mention of teaching; the number that are persuaded and encouraged to make a career out of it can be counted.

Yet in that number, there are still those who have regretted picking teaching as a career. These are the remnants, who ventured into it with enthusiasm; however, along the line, they became embittered as a result of what they were owed significantly so as they were neglected and offered less in return for choosing to be teachers.

Teachers, wherever they are have remained building blocks for the nation’s development. As much as we know, Nigerian teachers have being at the receiving end of all the indignities the society has ‘sworn’ they deserve to get. But the announcement of the new largesse for Nigerian teachers was too good to believe; but truth be told, the decision has come to stay. Who would have thought this year’s celebrations of the World Teachers Day, would overshadow the pains of the season?

That was the surprise of the day for most Nigerians. However, nothing was lost in the fact that the teacher has continued to be at the receiving end of all that is bad. This is not to forget that here; we have elevated the political class to the highest point; only a few pay attention to the contributions that have been made by the teacher to develop the nation.

While it is common knowledge that not much attention has been paid on the teacher generally, we are where we are today as a result of past neglect the teacher has been made to go through. The conditions have always not been attractive to them; any person in need of a teaching job in the community is easily employed as that may be the only available job to be given to please community members. No concrete efforts are made for the best to be attracted to the profession. To say that it has caused Nigeria a lot is an understatement.

The result of the action is quickly reflected in the products that are churned out yearly. Many of those who teach in some cases are not well-trained; the reason our educational foundations are shaky. While they may be remunerated as at when due, we are the more affected fundamentally by their lack of inexperience. No wonder over time, states have had to sack teachers on account of their lack of certificates and or capacity to instruct pupils in the way and manner their future will be better.

The situation arises as a result of the foundation set. Everyone in the community who has no work is considered right for a teaching appointment. The interest in the profession has been killed over the years as far as government ‘refused’ to pay attention to teaching in order to attract the best we have around who will lay the foundation for our children.

Apart from the Buhari increasing the number of years of service from 35 to 40, he also approved a special salary scale for teachers in the country. The idea principally is to encourage teachers in delivering better service. With a theme of the celebration: ‘Leading in crisis, reimagining the future’ the development means a lot to Nigerian teachers and its union which has, over the years fought for the establishment of a Teachers Registration Council and others which are intended to facilitate the integration of the Nigerian teacher receiving his/her dues while on earth. They have been so neglected.

Truly so, he insisted that ‘teachers have the power to shape and reshape the lives of young people and help learners to enhance their potentials,’ if they are given the right atmosphere to put their potentials to proper use. ‘Only great teachers can produce excellent people and students that will make the future of our country great. A positive or negative influence of a teacher on any child will have an effect on that child. Therefore the federal government is ensuring quality education to access.’

The quality of teachers we have always gotten depends on the investments and premium we place on them. If we truly desire that the quality of education of teachers must improve and stay on course, it is necessary that continued professional development has to be given priority. The desire to be responsive to the needs of teachers was long abandoned and forgotten; and has come to hunt us. Teachers need to be attracted through the right ‘investment in the profession, the quality of the introduction of bursary award has been restored’ by government. Added is ‘a special pension scheme to enable the teaching profession to retain its experienced talents’.

The Special Salary Scale is for Teachers in Basic and Secondary Schools, which will include ‘provisions for rural posting allowance, science teachers allowance and peculiar allowance. Other promises include building low-cost housing for teachers in rural areas, sponsorship to at least one refresher training per annum to benchmark best practices for improved teaching and learning.

Most rural teachers, due to neglect have become full time farmers at the detriment of their pupils and students. It may not be deliberate, but their attitude has ‘forced’ parents to ensure that they complement their efforts on the family farms. We have by this killed education.

Some of the other incentives approved by President Buhari, to motivate and restore the lost glory of Teachers include the ‘building of low-cost houses for teachers in rural areas, sponsorship of teachers to at least one refresher training per annum, expansion of annual Presidential teachers and schools awards to cover more categories with outstanding winners to be considered for National Awards and National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) awards’.

All the above may come to naught if there is no prompt payment of salaries and other entitlements including consideration for the first-line charge in annual budgets, timely promotion of teachers to eliminate stagnation, provision of loan facilities, free tuition and automatic admission for biological children of teachers in their respective schools to encourage and retain them in the system.

Apart from having vibrant policies that will provide allowances and initiate annual retention benefits for teachers in order to attract them to rural communities, the best must be brought on board. The states have a greater responsibility for providing incentives to them, so that younger persons who have a passion to be teachers can join the profession without encumbrances.

Over the years, the Nigerian teachers have continued to agitate for all of the above. It is just that policy summersault has not helped Nigeria largely. These far-reaching attempts at changes have revealed huge gaps ‘in the quantity and quality of teachers at all levels of the nation’s education system’. It is expected that these new initiatives would ‘attract best brains into the teaching profession and encourage teachers in delivering better services that would produce quality students who would, in turn, contribute to national development’.

If Nigeria wants the dearth of qualified teachers to be a thing of the past, let us be serious with the pronouncements of the President. We are in an emergency situation, in which our educational system is in the workshop; and if the mechanics do not repair it as it should be, the quality of the repairs will be seen in their products.