The Teacher And Nation Building

The importance of the primary and secondary school teacher in the educational development of any society can not be over emphasized. It is because of this that developed countries in the world over place high premium on the warfare of teachers. Unfortunately, in Nigeria the reverse is the case. As a result, the noble profession is not looked with disdain and ragged as a job for low income earners.

Furthermore, the profession should not be misconstrued but be given its worth as regard the role it plays in the development and advancement of a nation. It is based on this argument that the teacher is seen or regarded as the builder of man. No wonder John Locke said that “Human brain is by birth a blank sheet on upon which nothing is written”. It is the duty of the teacher to impart knowledge into it. That is why the profession has one of its aims as giving the child the right education so that he grows with it. The scripture say that we should train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it (proverb 22:6).

The training of people in various disciplines is done by the teachers, but is it is regrettably lugubrious to note that professionals bred by the teacher enjoy better benefits and job comfort than the primary school teacher.

A typical example is the health sector which earns more than twice a teacher who is of the same salary grade level. Undoubtedly the significance of the health sector is obvious but there would not have been a health worker without the teacher.

In addition to the above, the role of the teacher in character molding is another area his value is known. Learning however is not only imparting knowledge but also modifying the child's attitude in conforming to the society. Teachers do this by employing various methods and discipline as corrective measures. A retrospective look show that parent in the past often report cases of children misbehavior at home to teachers for proper disciplinary action. In fact, the teacher is seen as a changer of children misdemeanor.

The teacher patterned the child in according to the society and because of that indiscipline was hardly found in our tertiary institution of learning. Furthermore, undergraduates are seen as grown ups and as persons who could adjust to the realities of any environment they fine themselves.

The fact that workers in tertiary institution earn better than the primary and secondary school teachers seem to show that the role of the teacher in the modification process is not recognized. The imbalance posed by the salary structure and entitlements renders the teacher's job burdensome.

Moreover, teachers are simply not satisfied with their job and consequently chose to vacate the field to other ministries and parastatls. No wonder the issue of replacement is more rampant in the profession and these adversely affect the teaching and learning process.

The recurrent spate of replacements occasioned by lack of motivation being about flippant on the part of teachers. This is because no worker will be productive without the necessary incentives. The plight of primary and secondary school teachers call for concern if we will improve the Nigeria education system.

In the other hand, examination malpractice and other social vices have now become the orders of the day as no teacher with poor emolument will be ready to work with the spirit of commitment and loyalty. It is not wonder that students of these days are incapable of passing external examinations expect they depend on others.

It is deplorable to note that the government of Nigeria has always allowed strike action to take place before looking into the plight of its citizenry. Nevertheless, no wonder, the health and tertiary institutions has always attracted federal government attention through lasting and recurrent strike actions. Today such workers are better place and are considered paramount on issue of public reference.

The Nigeria Union Teachers (NUT) and all stakeholders in the education sector should workout possible strategies to redress the ugly trend. Instead of strike, better measures should be adopted to review the salary structure in order to revitalize our education sector, because as Hon. Patrick Obahaigbon always said “that what is success for guess, is equally good for gander”. This is the best time to answer this clarion call, because tomorrow may be too late.

IHEMELU AZUBIKE OKECHUKWU

AN ORATOR/ political analyst

Email: - [email protected], [email protected]

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