Teachers’ neglect detrimental to education, development — Ajiboye, TRCN boss

Registrar/Chief Executive of Teachers Registration Council (TRCN), Professor Josiah Ajiboye, has asked state governments and other relevant stakeholders to take the welfare of teachers as fundamental issue in the pursuit of excellence in education.

He warned that neglecting the welfare of teachers is detrimental to achieving quality education and overall societal development.

Ajiboye, who was the guest speaker at the conference in Abuja, organised by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Federal Wing, asserted that teachers are the backbone of any educational system, playing a pivotal role in shaping the minds and futures of generations.

He highlighted key issues to be addressed to re-imagine teaching and the teaching profession to include recasting teaching as a collaborative profession; recognising professional development as a lifelong learning journey and mobilising public solidarity to improve teachers’ working conditions and their status.

He said there was the need to promote teachers’ engagement in decision-making and public debate on education, providing them with the necessary support and autonomy.

Ajiboye said: “In Nigeria, like many other nations, teachers play an indispensable role in shaping the minds of the next generation. They are the unsung heroes, yet, far too often, their welfare is overlooked, their struggles brushed aside, and their pivotal role undervalued.

“However, despite their role, the welfare of teachers in Nigeria has been a neglected issue for far too long. Teachers’ well-being is essential as poor working conditions, excessive workloads, and isolation can lead to dissatisfaction, burnout, and attrition,” the TRCN boss said.

He advocated for payment of teachers’ fair and competitive salaries to be commensurate with the invaluable service they provide.

“Additionally, we must invest in professional development opportunities, mentorship programmes, and continuous training to empower teachers and enhance their effectiveness in the classroom.

“In this regard, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria as the teachers’ regulator has made commendable efforts despite the paucity of funds but there is still much to be done and the council is working with the current administration to make them continue from where the predecessors stopped.

Ajiboye, recalled that most of the 2020 presidential approvals and many incentives rolled out for teachers in the country by former president Muhammadu Buhari’s to attract and retain the best brains into the teaching profession in Nigeria, were yet to get across to the teeming teachers except the service year elongation which has only taken effect at the federal level.

Recall that during the commemoration of the World Teachers Day in 2020, the then president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, approved a special salary scale and a special pension scheme for teachers in the country.

Besides, the former president promised to build low-cost houses for teachers in rural areas, sponsorship to at least one refresher training per annum to benchmark best practices for improved teaching and learning, and retirement age for teachers.

He also promised an expansion of the annual Presidential Teachers and Schools Awards and payment of stipends to Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) students and automatic employment after graduation.

The incumbent Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, , in a presentation said that the Federal Government had disbursed bursary awards to 2,889 students studying education. Paying bursary award to students studying education was one of the key promises made to teachers by Buhari’s administration.

Ajiboye, however, said TRCN which is the regulator of the teaching profession in Nigeria is doing all everything possible to continue to raise the profession to become a top-notch among committee of professions.

He said the council whose statutory role is to regulate the teaching profession and ensure standards is met and kept is involved in series of innovative activities to continue to raise the standards for the profession.

“TRCN has made concise efforts and always taken the lead in delivering Mandatory Continuous Professional Development programmes for the Nigerian teachers as well as, mentorship programmes,” he said.

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