YENAGOA — TEACHERS in Bayelsa State have been warned to desist from encouraging examination malpractices in schools.
Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha who gave the warning at this year's World Teachers' Day celebration in Yenagoa noted with regret that the teaching environment, once a symbol of prestige is now infested with cultism and other vices that have resulted in downward decline in the sector.
Lamenting the sad turn of events in the nation educational sub-sector, the governor explained that the fact that Nigeria was in dire need of trained manpower was no excuse for charlatans to infest the education environment
He accused teachers of abandoning their roles in the society as role models to perpetuate acts inimical to the callings of their profession.
His words: "there are clear indications that some teachers have abandoned their roles as role models. Teaching is riddled with poor preparation, absenteeism and general indifference to ethics.
“It is sad that a substantial percentage of our children today have embraced examination malpractice as a way out of their laxity,” he noted and used the opportunity to warn “all those involved in these shameful activities to stop before the long arm of the law catches up with them.”
The governor who stressed the urgent need for the nation to go back to the basics if it must salvage the pride of its dwindling educational sub-sector stated that his administration had in the last five years put in place measures to launch the state on the fast lane of educational advancement.
“Our achievements in the educational sub-sector in the last five years have been remarkable. In 1999, the educational sub-sector presented a dismal picture as structures were in abject disrepair in both primary and post-primary institutions while in some schools, children even sat on the bare floor in their makeshift classrooms but today the story is more encouraging,” he noted.
According to him, his administration went further by entering into partnership with well-established universities overseas under the HIPACT training scheme to update the knowledge of its teachers.
He however commended teachers in the state for their peaceful disposition and support for government policies and programmes and urged them to maintain the standard.
