ENCOURAGING TEACHING PROFESSION AT ALL COST AS THE WORLD MARKS THE 2017 WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY
By Fred Doc Nwaozor
Today, Thursday, October 5, the global community
is commemorating the 2017 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 24th 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. Nwaozor, is the Executive Director,
Docfred Resource Hub - Owerri
(Follow: @mediambassador)
No comments:
Post a Comment