Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja

Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello has disclosed that the State Executive Council has approved the recruitment of no fewer than 3,700 new teachers into the state secondary schools.

He restated the commitment of his administration to the welfare of teachers and to continue to promote high standard of education in the state.

Bello who disclosed this while speaking at World Teachers Day organised by the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASSUS), Kogi State chapter in Lokoja on Saturday, said the present government was committed to the welfare of the teachers in the state.

The governor who was represented by the Chief of Staff to the State governor, Edward David Onoja, explained that the role of teachers in the development of a nation cannot be over emphasised.

The governor appealed to the teachers that they should not blame the government for the current situation, saying it was the bad situation met on the ground that was being corrected and change is the most difficult thing to go through.

He furthered stressed that the state government had already approved the recruitment of a total of 3,700 teachers, adding this would inadvertently move the education sector forward.

“Teachers have made great names, be they soldiers, doctors, lawyers, judges or bankers. I believe, teachers by right, should get rewarded more than any other profession,” he added.

While unveiling Governor Yahaya Bello’s Star Teachers award, the governor stated that as from next year, at least 21 teachers from all local government areas across the state would receive an award.

Earlier in his address, the Chairman of ASSUS, Kogi State chapter, Comrade Ojo Ranti  Mathew, stated that the theme  of this year World day is “Young Teacher, the Future of the profession,” stressing that this was apt at a period when the country and Kogi State, in particular, was witnessing dearth of teachers in the classrooms as a result of many factors.

Ojo expressed fears that no concrete efforts had have been made to recruit younger teachers to learn from the aging population of teachers.

“It is a clarion call on government to think out a strategy by which at regular intervals, younger teachers are engaged to work under those that are experienced with a view to taking over from them in a seamless succession arrangement.”

He, therefore, highlighted some challenges faced by teachers in the state, calling on the government to pay gratuity to the retirees, look into the issue of national minimum wage among others.