By Raphael Jov, Abuja
The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu has once again brought to fore the important role of teachers in education in the country.
Mallam Adamu who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Arc. Sonny Echono, said this at the inaugural ceremony of the Planning and Implementation Committee on the Selection of Awardees for the 2018 President’s Teachers and Schools Excellence Award (PTSEA) held in Abuja.
In his words: “Teachers are indeed the centre of the education system and that is why the Federal Government recognizes that no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers, hence government has invested enormously in education”, Mallam Adamu stressed.
The Minister emphasized that at the Federal level, the Government has ensured that every teacher gets his or her pay as and when due. The Award according to him, was instituted in fulfillment of government’s promise to provide quality delivery of education and sustenance of the ideals of excellence in service.
The Award, he said, would be in three broad categories namely:Best Teacher, Best School Administrator and Best School; and each category will have 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions.
He then charged the Committee that transparency and integrity were central to the assignment, adding that management of the Ministry was expecting a well conducted and transparent selection. He tasked the Committee to submit its report to him by Monday 3rd September, 2018.
Speaking earlier, the Director Education Support Services, Mrs. Justina Ibe disclosed that the 25-member Committee was drawn from key Parastatals in the education sector and has been handed an 8-point Terms of Reference which include: to develop modalities for the assessment of prospective nominees; to collect and analyse the instruments sent from the States and the FCT; to organize on-the-spot assessment of nominees and to conduct the Award ceremony later in the year.
The Award is expected to be given to the deserving Awardees on the World Teachers’ Day celebration which comes up on 5th October, 2018.
