Gov AbdulRazaq Splashes N120m On Outstanding Teachers, Principals

Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has presented N120 million awards to “the most outstanding teachers and head teachers/principals” of basic and post-basic public and private schools in the state.

The 29 best principals/head teachers got N29 million; 119 outstanding teachers received N59,500 million; 11 serving and retired varsity dons won pioneer professorship recognition awards of N22 million, while three schools won N9 million for the Best Kept School Award.

The governor also announced plan to buy 10,000 shares in the Dangote Refinery IPO for 10 female teachers in each of the outstanding public schools, saying the aim was to foster an investment culture among them.
AbdulRazaq, who identified teachers as major drivers in the sector, said his government will continually prioritise their welfare.

He added that the awards were to recognise their sacrifices and motivate them to do more.

“We will continue to play our part, including improving your welfare and working conditions on a sustainable basis. We are confident that you and other stakeholders will always do your part,” the governor said in Ilorin after the symbolic presentation of the prizes at an event to commemorate World Teachers’ Day.

“Our objective remains clear: to build an education system that gives every child in Kwara a fair opportunity to learn, develop useful skills and compete anywhere in the world.

The quality of education we provide today will determine the quality of Kwara we have tomorrow.

“When we came into office, we knew that improving the education sector was a top priority. We also knew that this required more than building classrooms or increasing the number of teachers. We needed to improve the quality of teaching and learning itself, as well as sustainably restore the dignity of our teachers.

“That informed our decision to recruit qualified teachers through a merit-based process, strengthen continuous professional development, improve school infrastructure and introduce technology and data into the management of basic education through KwaraLEARN,” the governor said.

AbdulRazaq also spoke about the regular promotion of teachers and the implementation of the 27.5 % Teachers’ Specific Allowance (TSA) by his administration, acknowledging that the “welfare and honour of our teachers must remain a priority at all times”.

He noted that the government’s interventions in the sector were already yielding results, considering the superlative performance of the school pupils who have earned the state many laurels at national and international competitions.