By Gabriel Chy Alonta
No fewer than 800 graduates of Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, have been formally inducted into the teaching profession by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
The event took place at the university auditorium on Tuesday, October 12, 2021.
Administering the 9th Induction & Oath-Taking Ceremony of the graduands of B.Ed., BA Ed, PGDE, M.Ed. and Ph.D, in Awka, the Anambra state capital, the Registrar/Chief Executive of TRCN, Prof. Josiah Olusegun Ajiboye, noted that induction was the last ritual towards becoming a professional teachers, and remarked that the council only inducts teachers with necessary skills and pedagogy.
Ajiboye urged the inductees to ensure they acquire technological skill, which, according to him, is a prerequisite to teaching in the 21st century. He said as nation builders, the teachers ought to be prepared at all times to meet up with changing times, even as he encouraged them to take the oaths they took seriously.
Delivering an induction lecture on the “Role of Teachers in National Development”, Dr. Godwin Maduka, a gubernatorial candidate in Anambra November 6 election, said teachers are indispensable assets in nation building, noting that any nation that ignores its teachers do so at its peril.
According to the induction lecturer, Nigeria’s quest to attain economic growth and national rebirth can only be made possible if we can continue to give due and considerable attention to our teachers. “We must ensure that our teachers get the best of training and receive incentives. Government must ensure measures are put in place to properly reward teachers”.
He said teachers were the real agents that aid in the development of various skills and competencies of citizens, while decrying that the decline in the number of teachers was as a result of decline in funding of the education sector despite the UNESCO 26 per cent recommendation.
Maduka, represented by his Campaign Director, Barr. Bright Nebedum, also blamed the poor performance of teachers on the current harsh economic situation in the country, which, he said, had forced teachers to renege in performing their legitimate roles.
The gubernatorial aspirant added, “Teachers are also drivers of our democratic processes and must be upright particularly during elections. “If elected, I will introduce free education from primary to secondary schools to ensure that Anambra State becomes the most literate state in the south-east region”, he promised. He also told his audience to be worthy ambassadors of the institution and be committed to the profession.
Also speaking on the title, “Teacher retention: Imperative of the moment”, Prof. I. G. Nwangwu from Enugu State University of Science and Technology, said quality of teachers is dependent on the quality of its products, remarking that teachers, a critical player in the implementation of the education policies, need to be available in both quality and quantity.
Nwangwu, a professor of education management, said effort must be made to recruit quality teachers, as well as to avoid teacher attrition, which, he said, was not good for the profession. He decried that despite little improvement in the teaching profession, teachers still leave the profession in search of greener pastures, while calling for more improvement in the conditions of services for teachers.
In a remark, the Dean, Faculty of Education, Prof. Nkechi Ikediugwu, disclosed that the induction was for the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 graduands, while congratulating those who scaled through the TRCN examination to be certified as professional teachers.
Ikediugwu, who noted that teachers play a leading role in shaping the future leaders, harped on the need to train teachers to meet up with 21 century teacher demands. She further appealed that the faculty be supported with a faculty bus for conveying teaching practice students, a generator set and office buildings for lecturers. She stressed the import of induction exercise, saying that it was obtainable the worldover.
While declaring the event open, the university vice-chancellor, Prof. Charles Esimone, represented by the deputy vice-chancellor (Academic), Prof. Frederick Odibo, said every graduate of education and lecturer in the university should be a certified teacher, and extolled the TRCN leadership for maintaining standards in the teaching profession.
The vice-chancellor then described the induction theme as apt, noting that the role of teachers cannot be quantified. According to Esimone, it is the teacher who made you no matter your position in society, and teachers should not be relegated or neglected. He urged the inductees to be worthy of the institution and society.
Earlier, the chairman of the occasion, Prof. Romy Okoye, said induction was a serious exercise, an annual one, which confirms teachers as professionals. He thanked the TRCN for improving the teaching profession, remarking that it was a step in the right direction for the profession.
Kenneth Mba, on behalf of other inductees, thanked the Dean and other staff of the faculty for training them throughout their stay in the university, assuring that they would put all they had learnt into practice. He pledged that they would be worthy ambassadors of the faculty and institution wherever they go.
Dr. Isaac Nwankwo, the faculty of education sub-dean, had, in a vote of thanks, enjoined the inductees to uphold teaching ethics and to conduct themselves with decorum while discharging their duties.
Award presentations to Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, the PDP gubernatorial candidate in Anambra State, Mr. Godwin Maduka of Accord Party and best graduating students, as well as unveiling of the Unizik Student Graduate Journal, formed the high points of the induction ceremony.
The induction ceremony was anchored by the Director, Centre for Disability and Special Needs Research (CENDASNER), Prof. Willie Obiozor.