Image Credit: UNESCO

World Teachers’ Day comes up annually on October 5. The theme for this year’s celebration is Teaching in Freedom, Empowering Teachers. Like the integral units of a production line, teachers are there shaping destinies. Teachers’ Day this year is a commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel. It is opined that teaching personnel at institutions of higher education are often overlooked in discussions concerning the status of teachers.

In Nigeria’s context, apart from teachers in the university under the trade association, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and teachers in pre-primary, primary, and secondary school levels under the trade association, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), little is known about the status of teachers in polytechnics and colleges of education.

If teacher empowerment is to become top priority in all education and development strategy, a more formidable voice is required to get the attention of stake holders and policy makers. Teachers are key to ensuring the successful achievement of SDG 4 on inclusive and quality education for all and to creating societies based on knowledge, values and ethics. Unless teachers enjoy the required attention across board, we may get to 2030 and find ourselves in another 2015.

As we celebrate teachers this year, let us highlight their contribution to the education and development of our future citizens. Imagine for a second, if teachers were not involved in your life, what would it be? Understanding the non-affordability of such reality, we should pay teachers deep respect and appreciation in their lifetime.

Individually, you can walk up to your teacher, past or present and say thank you! You could treat them to a nice dinner; wrap a valuable gift and send to them; ask for their account number and wire money to them; gift them with shopping voucher at their favourite mall; tickets to see movies of their choice is also apt. More important is actually the spirit. Let’s make them feel appreciated. Let’s make them feel like VIPs whom they truly are. Parents can individually or associatively send thank you packages to their children’s teachers.

Hash tag #wordteachersday will be trending, make sure you follow and let the buzz go viral. Your event and pictures on this year’s World Teachers’ Day could be submitted on www.worldteachersday.org or sent as email to wtd@unesco.org .

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