Economic hardship: Group advocates better welfare for teachers

Amidst prevailing economic hardship in the country, a non-profit organisation concerned with quality education, PristineSACC Education and Technology Initiative, has called for better working conditions, improved compensation, and enhanced support systems for teachers.

According to the group, the call was made to ensure provision of effective teaching.

The group made the call in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital on Tuesday during a Teachers Roundtable Discussion it hosted to deliberate on teachers’ socioeconomic status, teachers’ job performance and students’ academic achievement.

The programme was attended by teachers and managers of schools.

In her address, the Executive Director of Pristine SACC, Mrs. Umar Aishat, who noted that “teachers play a critical role in shaping the future of our nation by imparting knowledge and nurturing young minds”, however, lamented that their contributions are often not well appreciated and their welfare neglected.

Aishat, who was represented by Miss Balogun Hanifat, stressed the need for reforms to uplift the status of teachers in society, adding that her organization would continue to promote professionalism in the teaching profession and advocate better welfare for teachers.

Also speaking, the organization’s Programme Manager, Sulyman Abdulfattah Odore, said though teachers are important stakeholders in educational institutions and should lead the task of promoting quality education in Nigeria, they cannot be faulted for the present state of education in the country because the reward system is poor.

“Teachers are under-recognized, under-appreciated, and unmotivated, and their pay does not cover their costs. The discouraging socioeconomic status of teachers poses a serious risk to their effectiveness at work and to the academic success of their students. This needs to be addressed so as to get the best out of them”, he said.

Odore, who emphasised the need for teachers to embrace technology to improve their efficiency in class and reduce their workload, encouraged them to use appropriate Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to prepare lesson notes and to also make learning fun for their students.

On his part, the Director of Programme of Pristine SACC, Mr. Sodiq Ajala, advised teachers to always invest in their self-improvement and seek training and professional development opportunities.

The highlight of the programme was the grouping of participating teachers into groups to fashion out business ideas educators could venture into to get additional funds to augment their salaries, and design action plans on how teachers can integrate technology into their teaching activities and become more effective. Among the ideas suggested for teachers to augment their income are content creation, research, data science, online tutoring, etc.