By Matthew Denis, Abuja
In commemoration of the World Teachers Day, the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), has appealed to all tiers of government in ensuring safety and security of learning environment.
The National President of NAPPS, Chief Yomi Otubela stated this in a statement made available to Nigerian NewsDirect on Wednesday.
He said, “Our students need to also learn in a safe environment and society. Frequent attacks on learning institutions could send a negative and traumatizing signal to both teachers and learners.
“I enjoin the governments at all levels and school administrators to ensure that our learning institutions are adequately secured from threats that could hurt the learning process.
“Considering the fact that the future of any society lies in the hands of its children, teachers who are the transformation agents in education must get the necessary support from all stakeholders and feel safe to achieve the goals of effective and qualitative education.”
He stressed that teachers as role models to our children need every support in various areas (psychological support, mental wellness, job security, remuneration, technological support, etc) to successfully carry out their numerous roles in the lives of our children.
“As we celebrate the virtues and heroic qualities of our teachers, I will like to appreciate all teachers for their support, diligence, and dedication to the teaching profession.”
According to him, teachers do not only contribute to the academic world but also the development of society at large noting that Teachers Day therefore, provides the avenue to show appreciation to teachers worldwide for their immense contribution to the growth and development of the education sector.
Chief Otubela emphasized that the theme for this year’s Teachers Day “the Transformation of Education Begins with Teachers” strongly connotes the importance of empowering the teachers for the effective transformation of education to ensure quality teaching and learning.
“There will be no significant transformation in education without the strong input of teachers. Even in ordinary times, the quality of teaching that students receive is the most important driver of learning within an educational system, and the importance of teachers goes far beyond students’ cognitive achievement. Research shows that teachers successfully contribute to students’ non-cognitive learning and outcomes well beyond their schooling years.
“To ensure the required transformation in education, teachers will need to develop targeted and sequenced remedial learning plans and strategize how to deliver these alongside the curriculum and learning. Teachers will also need to provide important social and emotional support to students. Teachers will need to deliver this support in innovative ways, blending in-person, remote, and hybrid approaches.
“Teachers need support in equipping them in areas like physical and mental wellness as well as technological support (supporting teachers with necessary gadgets, data and training needed to meet up with the 21st-century learning process.”
The President noted that providing teachers with high-quality professional development (PD) opportunities cannot be an afterthought or an add-on; it needs to be considered an essential funding priority to ensure the required transformation in education.
“Professional Development of teachers will provide the necessary opportunities to strengthen their teaching practice in line with the standard practice. It is more important that the transformation of education through effective in-service professional development should be tailored to teachers’ needs, providing targeted support in the areas in which teachers need the most support.”
He reiterated that professional development should also be practical, with active learning strategies that provide teachers with opportunities to practice new skills and receive feedback on them. It must be focused, selective and strategic in scope, with sufficient time and resources to adequately cover the content.
On their part, he revealed that the association through NAPPS Cooperative in her efforts to boost the morale of teachers in the employment of NAPPS registered schools nationwide is already finalising a scheme tagged “Teachers Housing Scheme” to put smiles on the faces of our teachers nationwide.
He said, “The National Executive Council of NAPPS is bent on ensuring this.”