ENCOURAGING TEACHING PROFESSION AT ALL COST AS THE WORLD MARKS THE 2016 WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY ON WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 5
Today,
Wednesday October 5, the global community is commemorating the 2016 anniversary
of the World Teachers’ Day. In view of the unavoidable impact of teachers on
any society, in 1994, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) reached a unanimous resolution that October 5 of every
year should be observed by all the UN Member States as World Teachers’ Day. The
annual World Teachers’ Day, which is aimed at mobilizing support for teachers
as well as ensuring that the needs of future generations would continue to be
met by teachers, was first commemorated in the year 1994.
According to UNESCO, World
Teachers’ Day represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding
and appreciation displayed for the vital contribution that teachers make to
education and global development. On its part, Education International (EI),
which is the global union federation that represents education professionals
worldwide, strongly solicits that World Teachers’ Day ought to be
internationally recognized and celebrated around the world.
No doubt, every right thinking person eagerly wishes
to know what he/she does not or is yet to know. Such attribute can be referred
to as ‘man’s quest for knowledge’. In the same vein, for anyone to acquire any
form of knowledge, he must be taught by someone or something. In a situation
whereby the knowledge recipient is being taught by a non-human such as book,
internet, or as the case may be, it is worthy to note that that material or
avenue through which he/she acquired the knowledge was invented by someone or a
human. In other words, teaching cannot be possible without the effort of a
person.
Someone who impacts knowledge to
other person(s), directly or indirectly, is generally referred to as a teacher.
In a concise term, a teacher is someone who teaches others better ways of doing
something or a better way of living. He can also be described as someone who
helps or contributes meaningfully in the uplift of someone else’s educational
status or level. Hence, teaching is simply the act of impacting knowledge. On
the other hand, education, in a general sense, is the means through which the
aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to another.
Sure, anyone can be identified as a teacher, considering the
relationship that exists between the persons involved. It would equally interest us to acknowledge
that, there are those or group of persons who embrace teaching as a profession;
this set of people could be regarded as institutional teachers. The latter are
the people the World Teachers’ Day is targeted to celebrate.
The institutional teachers are the ones that
are often recognized as ‘teachers’ owing to the fact that they are the only
persons that bring out their time, energy, resources, and what have you, to the
fullness, to ensure that knowledge is fully and duly obtained by its seekers.
Among all, anyone who practices teaching or who takes teaching as a profession,
must had passed through a certain professional training in a higher citadel of
learning, particularly an education institute.
In most nations, it is disheartening to note that this set of people
known as teachers, who had contributed immensely and relentlessly to the
socio-economic development of the nation, are treated poorly as regards payment
of salaries among other incentives. It is even more pathetic and disgusting to
acknowledge that in some quarters, these persons whom are meant to be the
leading professionals are regarded as second class, if not third class
citizens.
If the truth must be told, then
we all must agree that it is only an insane man that is yet to comprehend that
teachers are the building block of any nation or society. Needless to say; they
remain the rudiments or foundation on which any nation is built. So, when
realized that same set of individuals are invariably relegated to the
background, it becomes a thing of worry to anyone who truly means well for his
country, or immediate society.
As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate the 23rd
anniversary of the World Teachers’ Day, the civil society coupled with other
stakeholders are expected to encourage the teaching profession by ensuring that
the following conditions are reached by any employer:
v
Good
and enticing employment conditions including appropriate contracts, salaries,
and prospects for career progression and promotion.
v
Conducive
and charming work environment.
v
High
quality pre- and in-service training.
v
Effective
management to include a teacher’s recruitment and deployment.
The international community and
various governments need to stand firm and united to support teachers as well
as quality learning worldwide, especially in those countries where the highest
number of out-of-school children exists. In this regard, they are meant to
acknowledge that an education system is only as good as its teachers. The
various existing teachers’ unions are also expected to support their respective
governments in the area of maintenance of sanity in our schools. By so doing,
anomalies to include mediocrity, laxity, apathy, truancy, and other nonchalant
attitudes found among most present days’ teachers would be totally eradicated.
The above measure, if properly implemented in Nigeria, would enable
every teacher in the country to proudly identify him/herself as a ‘teacher’
regardless of the circumstance, which would definitely help to uplift the
country’s educational standard. Thus, we are expected to support this
remarkable crusade with utmost passion. Think about it!
COMR FRED DOC NWAOZOR
(The Media Ambassador)
-Public
Affairs Analyst & Civil Rights Activist-
Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career Development - Owerri
_____________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
http://frednwaozor.blogspot.com
Twitter: @mediambassador
No comments:
Post a Comment