Across the globe, October 5 of every year is teachers’ day. It is a known fact that without the light, hard surface of the earth will be in obscurity. Without teachers, development of any form can never greet the nation. They are the nation builders, destiny moulders, etc. The impact of teachers can never be undervalued.
Literarily, a professional teacher can be conceptualised as an individual who is saddled with the responsibility to inculcate knowledge, customs, cultures, morals to the students for them to become of good value and useful to the society or the community they belong to.
However, parents, pastors, prophets, alfas, among others, are also teachers so far they instill knowledge in people in one way or the other. This means teaching is not limited to the ones carried out within the four walls of the classroom.
Lawyers, doctors, engineers, soldiers, politicians are products of a teacher. As doctor heals, teacher does as well. Some many are teachers but few are professional teachers.
The assertion that teachers’ reward is only achieved in heaven is what is discouraging majority of the people from the teaching profession and this may affect the country negatively in the future.
In Nigeria, the cogent reason teaching profession is shunned by modern youths is their low salary scale which is what necessitated me to pen this piece of writing.
As a result, I plead the federal government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari and all the 36 state governors to increase the salary scale of both the federal and state government teachers.
They are underpaid, they need also to be remunerated in line with how the nurse who renders medical treatment to prevent untimely death are being paid. I will be looking forward to seeing a positive change.
At this juncture, I congratulate the teachers. God will not stop showering on them unbridled knowledge, immeasurable wisdom to efficaciously perform the responsibility they are employed for or saddled with.
Olayode Inaolaji,
Ogbomoso, Oyo state
inaolajiolayode@gmail.com