The Delta State Government, through its Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), has issued a stern warning that the era of teachers earning salaries without working is now over.
The Subeb Chairman, Samuel Mariere said this during a meeting with education stakeholders in Warri South and Warri South West Local Government Areas, in continuation with its ongoing discussions towards uplifting standards in public primary schools in the state.
Mariere, a former member of the State House of Assembly and a one-time Commissioner for Water Resources Development, said a lot of teachers have relocated abroad but still collect salaries while abandoning their duty posts.
He noted that for the ongoing reforms in public primary schools to succeed, teachers must live up to expectations, including exposing those who have abandoned their responsibilities for greener pastures elsewhere.
The SUBEB Boss emphasized that discipline must be enforced at all times, stressing that every stakeholder should support the reformation agenda of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori in the education sector.
Mariere charged head teachers and parents to look beyond classroom work, saying that in the old days of primary education, teachers were respected in the communities because they were seen as agents of positive change.
The SUBEB Chairman and his team were earlier at the palaces of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse, and the Orusuen of Okere Urhrobo kingdom, Oghenochuko Morris Egbobonyen, where he explained the government’s resolves to reposition the public primary schools.
He stressed that basic primary education is the foundation of education and that if the formative part of the pupils is devoid of the best, the outcome of the future may not be palatable.
Mariere appealed to the traditional rulers to support government efforts by getting their subjects involved in the repositioning of public primary schools in their domains.
He said communities must take ownership of the schools by providing security and working with the head teachers to give quality education to the pupils.
The SUBEB Chairman commended the SBMC and vigilante groups for their contributions to the development of public primary schools, even as he called on them to do more.
Representative of the Olu of Warri, Chief Brown Mene, commended the state government for the reforms and promised that the palace would support it to succeed.
Orusuen of Okere-Urhobo, Ogheneochuko Morris, said reform is a welcome development, adding that the kingdom was committed to the growth of educational institutions in the society. He disclosed that before the recruitment of teachers by the state government, the kingdom had employed private teachers to support the schools.
Other stakeholders who spoke, commended SUBEB for its strategic steps to improve standards in public primary schools across the state.
