Tackle rot in education sector, Ondo ASUSS urges govt

TEACHERS in Ondo State have called government at all levels to tackle the rot and decadence bedeviling Nigeria’s education sector.

The call was made through the Ondo State chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), Mr Dayo Adebiyi, during the celebration of the World Teachers Day and the foundation laying ceremony of the union’s secretariat in Igbatoro Road, Akure, the state capital.

Speaking on the theme ‘Valuing Teacher, Increasing His Status’, Adebiyi said it (theme) served as a challenge to leaders of thought and world political and economic leaders.

“The theme of this year’s celebration is very well and carefully selected because of the complexity of the status of teaching and its nuances to people in different climes and cultures.

“In most developed countries of the world, teaching is regarded as a noble profession; treated and held with high regard. In these areas, education occupies a pride of place and teaching profession belongs to the highest echelon of the societal strata,” he noted.

He, however, called for the upgrade of the teaching profession, saying that the minimum entry requirement into the education courses in the nation’s higher institutions should be reviewed upward.

“Apart from the minimum academic requirement from institutions of higher learning, professional registration and certification should also be made mandatory before anyone could be employed to undertake teaching job in any school or institution in the country.

He also advocated that the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) should be repositioned and strengthened in order to achieve the goals it was set up to achieve, rather than being a ‘toothless bull dog’,” he said further.