The Edo State government has promoted over 2,600 teachers across the state, elevating 171 others to the level of directors (Level 17 officers).
This, according to a statement issued by the state government, was part of moves to sustain a highly-motivated teaching workforce.
Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, while presenting Letters of Promotion to the beneficiaries, commended the teachers for their service to the state.
“In the past, teachers in the state were relegated to the background, but the Godwin Obaseki-led state government has shown the world that the issues of welfare, training and learning are important.
“When this government came on-board, we wanted to check what the issues were and the governor started by meeting with stakeholders and organising workshops to understand what the issues were.
“The reports were very revealing to the extent that we discovered that you cannot tell a teacher to write a competency test when you have not trained them in line with modern trends,” the Deputy Governor, Mr Philip Shaibu, who represented his boss, said.
According to him, “Governor Obaseki identified training as key for teachers to unleash their potentials. This journey is what everyone is celebrating today by giving them letters. You cannot give what you don’t have. The recent statistics show that in the last three years, Edo State came up between first and third in the West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams.”
“These children are not superhumans but achieved the feat because of the new and improved ways of teaching in Edo State,” he added.
Commissioner for Education, Mr Jimoh Ijegbai, said Governor Obaseki will continue to keep to every promise he made to Edo people, urging all the teachers to be agents of change and double their efforts to move Edo State from the second to first position in WAEC ranking.
He urged the teachers to work assiduously and ensure the re-election of Governor Godwin Obaseki for second term.
In his welcome address, the Chairman, Edo State Post Primary Education Board, Mr Gabriel Oiboh, expressed appreciation to the governor for promoting the teachers.
He said the Obaseki-led administration has remained committed to the welfare of teachers, noting, “Our teachers are the most motivated in the workforce and among the first to enjoy minimum wage when other states are still negotiating. The most recent demonstration of the commitment to welfare of teachers is the training of teachers by the Teachers’ Regulatory Council of Nigeria last year December.”
One of the teachers, Mr Obokhan Ekundayo, thanked the governor for the approving their promotion, adding “We are happy that the jet plane of the Governor Obaseki administration has finally landed in our constituency. Teachers slept and woke up to see the minimum wage reflected in their accounts.”
