Kwara State governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq yesterday joined the global community to celebrate teachers, calling them the centrepiece of his administration’s transformative agenda in the education sector.
The governor also assured the teachers of his administration’s continuous commitment to their welfare.
At an event celebrating the World Teachers Day in Ilorin, the state capital, no fewer than 61 teachers, drawn from every part of the state and across different stages of education got awards of excellence.
The awards came with varying expensive gifts, which the governor called a token of appreciation for those who mould the future of the next generation with their sweat, expertise, and patience.
AbdulRazaq said, “If there is anyone that we are obliged to honour and celebrate, that is the teacher. On that note, I thank all of you for your efforts, sacrifices, and commitments.
“The World Teachers’ Day is the idea of UNESCO in line with the 1966 Recommendations on the Status of Teachers across the world.
“The theme of this year’s anniversary speaks directly to us in Kwara State. Our huge investments in the education sector are closely tied to teachers and school heads. You are the key drivers of the transformation that we seek. As we commit billions of naira to improve the learning environment, we are similarly funding the multibillion naira KwaraLEARN programme which seeks to improve the capacity of our teachers and boost learning outcomes for our children.
“Between 2019 and now, we have ensured prompt payment of salaries — unlike before. The implementation of the minimum wage has raised the size of what we take home every month. We have similarly reduced the backlogs of promotion arrears. Training and retraining is more constant today. For those at the basic schools, we are already addressing the disparities in the salary as we recently pointed out. More will be done to address your genuine concerns.
