By Stanley Nwanosike
Enugu – Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State, on Wednesday, received Award of Excellence for Teachers’ Welfare from Association of Primary School Head Teachers of Nigeria (AOPSHON).
The two governors received the award during the ongoing three-day 2019 AOPSHON National Annual Workshop and Award Ceremony in Enugu.
They were given the award for their sterling performance to promote primary education and working conditions of teachers in their respective states.
Reacting to the award, Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, represented by the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), Chief Ikeje Asogwa, said that his administration held teachers in high esteem.
According to the governor, the state will continue to accord priority to teachers’ welfare in the state.
Ugwuanyi said that the state had continued to recruit teachers yearly within the past four years as well as ensuring timely and regular payment of salaries monthly.
“The administration in Enugu State has rehabilitated so many dilapidated school buildings and in recent time, appointed teachers as permanent secretaries.
“In addition, facilities like computers, books, tables and chairs are provided to the schools,’’ he said.
In his remarks, Gov Matawalle said that the award would spur him to do more for teachers and for the betterment of education in Zamfara State’’.
The governor, represented by the Chairman, Zamfara State Universal Basic Education Board (ZSUBEB), Alhaji Abubakar Maradun, noted that his administration within few months in office had reopened all closed schools in the state and provided security for them.
“The administration within few months, conducted promotion for teachers after eight years, promoted about 7,000 teachers and cleared all teachers’ promotion arrears.
“The administration is also renovating all dilapidated schools, focused on teachers capacity building through further training and laid out plan to return all out-of-school-children back to the classrooms,’’ he said.
Earlier, National President of the association, Comrade Lagha-Owei Zik, noted that there was a need for head teachers to re-strategise to upgrade the educational system and meet modern challenges in the sector.
“We as head teachers have some daunting challenges in our primary schools leading to a serious decline in the standard of education.
“It is our need to constantly check and review our level of commitment.
“Let us develop our children by re-strategising in order to upgrade the educational system giving consideration to the three domains i.e. cognitive, effective and psychomotor,’’ he said.
The three-day event, which holds from Nov. 26 to Nov. 28, is being attended by over 5,000 head teachers across the states of the federation and the FCT.
(NAN)
