Implementation of the N30, 000 minimum wage to workers will begin in Ekiti from October, Gov Kayode Fayemi announced on Saturday.
Mr Fayemi made the announcement at the celebration of 2019 World Teachers Day in Ado Ekiti.
The announcement set the huge crowd of teachers present at the event into wide jubilation that lasted several minutes.
The governor said the measure was to stimulate workers, especially teachers, to be able to deliver the best to the state to reclaim the lost glory and pride of being the education nerve centre of the country.
Mr Fayemi said he decided to inject new breeds of teachers into the state’s public schools, by recruiting 2,000 new teachers to safeguard the future of the state.
“We will commence payment of N30,000 to workers in Ekiti with effect from this month, October.
”We are determined to reward diligence because the workers, particularly our teachers have done the state proud.
“In this year’s WAEC, Ekiti was ranked 12th. I want to salute our teachers but that is not where Ekiti belonged, we must continually do more to rise to number one,” he said.
He said he was highly determined to protect and preserve the core values of making Ekiti the education capital of the nation.
Mr Fayemi said he decided to etablish more schools in Ado Ekiti capital city to depopulate the overpopulated ones and make learning more conducive.
According to him, the only way we can reclaim our lost glory in education is to encourage our teachers to do more.
“I will promote functional and technical education in this state.
“I have also ensured that all students of school age are in schools in line with education law, which makes basic education compulsory and in line with global best practice.
At the event, Henry Olaoluwa Asubiojo of Amoye Grammar School and Tajudeen Olaoye of Anglican Primary School, Esun Ekiti and Mojisola Ehinafe of Technical School, Ado Ekiti, were awarded with cash price of N500,000 each, for emerging as the best teachers in the state.
In his lecture at the occasion, the Provost, College of Education, Ikere Ekiti, Prof. Isaac Adeoluwa, said for Nigeria to move to its pride of place, teachers must be made to be ICT compliant and embrace modern techniques of teaching.
“Use of digital tools methodology makes learners innovative, expand scope of retention, increase teachers competitiveness and relevance and create enabling environment for both learners and teachers,” he said.
The Chairman of the Ekiti State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, Samuel Odugbesan, commended Mr Fayemi for recruiting teachers into public schools across the state, saying this will help in strengthening the future of education.
His counterpart in Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, Mr Sola Adigun, said prompt and regular payment of salaries has rescued the teachers from wanton poverty.
Mr Odugbesan said: “Teachers are retiring every day without replacement but with these recruitments in primary and secondary schools, the future of our education is guaranteed.
“Not having young teachers in the teaching profession is threatening the future of education and this recruitments are commendable.”
