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World Teachers Day: Low Turnout As Obaseki, Commissioner For Education, NLC Chair, Others Absent At Annual Ceremony

Published

11 months ago

October 5, 2024

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Commissioner for Education, Joan Oviawe and the Executive Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Mrs. Salami Ozavize, were conspicuously absent as teachers celebrated the 2024 World Teachers Day in the state.

The 2024 World Teachers Day has as its theme “Valuing Teachers’ Voices Towards New Social Contract for Education.”

Unlike previous years, this year’s celebration also witnessed low turnout of teachers.

The Edo State chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Odion Olaye, who is the number one worker in the state, was also absent at the celebration.

Since his assumption as governor of the state in 2016, Obaseki has never failed to grace the Teachers Day celebration. This year’s celebration was the last he was supposed to attend as his administration ends on November 12, 2024.

Besides the absence of the state government functionaries at the occasion, no fewer than 100 teachers, however, attended the occasion.

Speaking to newsmen on the low attendance of members and absence of state government functionaries at the celebration, the Edo State chairman of NUT, Bernard Gbenga Ajobiewe, attributed their absence to the high cost of living in the country as well as the aftermath of the just concluded governorship election in the state.

According to him: “Today’s celebration is just low-key because of the situation in the country, the hike in prices of fuel, and the high cost of living; that is why some teachers could not make it to this place.

“It is not out of place, and it is also globally recognised that Nigeria is passing through financial, fuel crises, and other challenges. That is why the low turnout is evident today.

“You are also aware that in Edo State, the governorship election was just conducted and people are worn out. Though government functionaries were invited, most of them were not in town.

“And few representatives were sent to represent them, and not that government functionaries are not here completely,” he said.

Meanwhile, in his address, Ajobiewe called on the state government to increase the number of teachers intended to be recruited by SUBEB into primary schools.

While noting that the number of teachers to be recruited is grossly inadequate, he appealed that the numbers to be recruited into primary should be increased to cater for the inadequacy.

The NUT chairman also called on the outgoing governor to employ EdoStar teachers with outstanding performance as permanent teachers in fulfilment of his government promises.

He said the union accepted EdoStar as a result of an acute shortage of teachers in both primary and secondary schools.

He, however, decried the failure of the state government to redeem its promise of the provision of an operational bus and a half-month salary to teachers.

“Your Excellency, sir, as promised during the 2023 World Teachers Day Celebration (today makes it a year), before the commencement of Alaghodaro Summit you are going to provide the union with an operational bus and an additional half-month salary.

Sir, Alaghodaro Summit is over; we are still waiting,” he added.

Other demands of the teachers from the state government are the building of a new teachers’ house or renovation of the existing one, provision of security, as well as the construction of perimeter fences in schools to reduce the menace of insecurity in the schools.

Ajobiewe, however, commended the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led government for the training and retraining of teachers in the state, regular payment of monthly salaries, approval and the domestication of 65 years of age and 40 years of length of service.

Others are approval and payment of the N70,000 minimum wage to all workers, including primary school teachers, approval of primary school teachers promotions from January 2022 to July 2024; and creating a good relationship between the government and the union in the state.

News

FG Unveils Revised Curriculum For Basic, Secondary, Technical Education

Published

12 hours ago

August 31, 2025

Editor

Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad

The Federal Government said it completed a comprehensive review of school curricula for basic, senior secondary and technical education aimed to make Nigerian learners “future-ready.”

The Ministry of Education disclosed this in a statement signed on Friday by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, and made available to newsmen on Sunday.

Folasade said the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad announced the curriculum on behalf of the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, while speaking in Abuja.

According to the minister, the review was carried out in collaboration with key education stakeholders, including the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, the Universal Basic Education Commission, the National Senior Secondary Education Commission and the National Board for Technical Education.

The new framework is designed to reduce content overload, improve learning outcomes, and ensure Nigerian students are equipped with skills relevant to today’s global demands.

Prof. Ahmad said the exercise went beyond merely trimming subjects, stressing it focused on improving content to promote deeper learning and reduce overload for pupils and students.

“Under the revised structure, pupils in Primary 1–3 will study a minimum of nine and a maximum of 10 subjects; pupils in Primary 4–6 will take 10 to 12 subjects. Junior secondary students may offer 12 to 14 subjects, senior secondary students will take eight to nine subjects, and technical schools will offer nine to 11 subjects,” the statement read.

“The revised curricula will reduce content overload and create more learning time for students,” Prof. Ahmad said, adding that the changes reflect the government’s commitment to delivering quality, practical and relevant education in a rapidly changing world.

The Ministry of Education commended stakeholders for their role in the review and said implementation will be accompanied by strict monitoring to ensure a smooth transition across schools nationwide.

The ministry did not give an exact date for rollout, but said the new curricula will be phased in with oversight from relevant agencies to guarantee effective adoption.

News

Over 23,000 People Still Missing In Nigeria — ICRC

Published

12 hours ago

August 31, 2025

Editor

The International Committee of the Red Cross says more than 23,659 people remain missing in Nigeria, leaving 13,595 families in anguish, most of them women struggling with uncertainty and hardship.

Protection of Family Links Team Leader of ICRC in Damaturu, Mr Ishaku Luka, disclosed this on Sunday during activities to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.

He said 68 per cent of those still searching for answers were women, while 59 per cent of those missing were minors at the time of their disappearance.

According to him, Yobe State alone accounts for 2,500 cases, the majority recorded in Gujba Local Government Area.

“Behind every missing person is a family living in pain, uncertainty, and economic difficulty.

“The anguish is compounded by legal, administrative, and psychosocial challenges. These families deserve acknowledgement, care and support,” Luka said.

He explained that the issue of missing persons was one of the most devastating consequences of armed conflicts, disasters, and migration.

He urged parties to conflicts, authorities, and communities to take greater responsibility in preventing disappearances.

Sharing ICRC’s interventions, Luka said by June 30, the organisation had collected 451 new cases in Nigeria, and closed 515 cases.

Luka added that the organisation had facilitated the reunification of seven separated children with their families.

“Every day, worldwide, we help reunite 20 people with their families. Every hour, we help clarify the fate of two missing people. Every minute, we help four separated persons contact their loved ones,” he added.

Head of ICRC Sub-delegation in Damaturu, Mr Rashid Hassan, said families of the missing should not be left alone in their struggles.

“Time does not heal. Acknowledgement, answers and respect do. Families must know that their loved ones are not forgotten and their demands are heard,” Hassan stressed.

He said the ICRC, working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), had provided mental health and psychosocial support, livelihood assistance, and orientation programmes for families of missing persons in Borno and Adamawa states.

Hassan urged authorities to fulfill their obligations by clarifying the fate of missing persons, protecting the dignity of the dead, and addressing the economic and social needs of the affected families.

He also called on society to show solidarity, avoid stigmatisation, and support the resilience of families searching for answers.

Globally, Hassan said, more than 94,000 people were newly registered as missing in 2024, bringing the total to 284,400.

He stressed, however, that the figure represented only a fraction of the real number.

“As we commemorate this day, we renew our commitment to advocate for the rights of the disappeared and to push for continuous efforts in searching for answers.

“No family should live with the torment of uncertainty,” Hassan said.

(NAN)

News

Ex-TVC’s ‘Your View Host,’ Afolabi-Brown, Admits Ignorance In Past Criticism Of Peter Obi

Published

12 hours ago

August 31, 2025

Editor

… narratives how she once considered suicide

Former Your View host, Morayo Afolabi-Brown, has said her past remarks about former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, were made without knowing much about him or his record in office.

The veteran media personality, in an interview with Chude Jideonwo, explained that her comments on the Labour Party presidential candidate at the time were not based on personal familiarity with his record.

“It was because I did not know him. After I made that comment, people called me and said, ‘Morayo, do you realise that when he was governor, he actually served us?’

“So that was him. I said, ‘Oh, I did not know,’” she said.

The broadcaster also opened up about her battle with depression, recalling how she once considered taking her own life.

“I was depressed. It got so bad that I thought I was suicidal. I just left everything behind.

“I remember just walking on the express, hoping a car would hit me. It was that bad,” she revealed.

Afolabi-Brown explained that she decided to step away from Your View after the show’s tenth anniversary, saying she had long harboured the thought of moving on.

“It was when we were 10 years old that I knew it was time to move on to the next thing.

“I’ve been harbouring that thought for a while, but I just didn’t know to what or where, you know.

“But I think last year, I got that light bulb moment,” she said.

Brown further narrated how she was sacked from TVC until her identity became known to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“People now call Asiwaju, ‘Do you know whose child was sacked?’ He said, ‘I’m not aware.’

“He said, ‘This is the Alao Aka-Bashorun’s daughter. That’s when he knew it was me,” she recalled.

On controversies during her career, she revisited the uproar that trailed an on-air interview in which she was accused of calling her husband a pedophile.

According to her, the First Lady’s intervention helped her make peace and publicly apologise.

Her exit from Your View, she noted, marked the end of her 12-year journey on the breakfast show.