Teachers, the key to education reform

The Director General National Teachers Institute (NTI), Dr. Aminu Ladan Sharehu has said that all education reform initiatives and resources put together would amount to nothing without the expertise of a crop of adequate trained and well-motivated teaching force.

He stated on the flag-off of the induction course for participation in the second Batch of the Federal Teachers Scheme in Paiko, Niger state. That all stakeholders in the education sector, the world over agreed that the teachers were central to the success of any endeavor in education adding that education is the foundation of which the development of the country rests.

Education does not only provide the much needed skilled manpower to transfer resources into goods and services aimed at ensuring good standard of living for the citizenry, but a major factor that could promote unity, social and our country Nigeria.

“We at the National Teachers Institute are proud to be one of the agencies involved in driving the development process in the country. Since its inception in 1976, the institute has been vigorously pursuing its mandate of improving the quality of education. Though our upgrading, postgraduate and proficiency diploma program, we have been making our modest contributions to teachers’ development,” he added.

He said with the support from the Federal Ministry of Education, National Teachers Institute is arranging to introduce Bachelors and Masters degree programs for the Nigerian teachers.

Dr. Laden noted that since teachers are the reservoirs of knowledge in the societies, the institute could not afford to limit only NCE and Diploma. Adding that the institute had since 2006 engaged in the retraining of 145, 000 primary school teachers nationwide.

Minister of State for Education, Hajiya Aishatu Jibril Dukku emphasized that the Federal Teachers Scheme program along-side other interventions of the Federal government in the education sector is proof of acknowledgement and commitment to education as the foundation for human capital development.

She said government’s various education program further places emphasis on education as a vital tool for the transformation of the society and sustainable economic development of the society.