Governor  Biodun Oyebanji, the governor of Ekiti State has presented  N47.8m as gifts to the best teachers during this year’s Teachers’ Day celebrations in Ado- Ekiti, the state capital.

At the event with the theme: ‘Valuing Teachers’ Voices: Towards a new social contract for  education”, Mrs Modupe Folayemi of Saint Francis’ Primary school, Igbara Odo and Mr. Odunayo Oriloye of Notre Dame Grammar School, Usi Ekiti, received N6 million each as the best teachers in  primary and secondary schools respectively.

Two teachers got N3 million each as first runners up, four received N1.5m each as second  runners up while  26 teachers were rewarded with N200,000 each as consolation prize.

The venue of the event was turned into a carnival, as teachers across educational cadres, adorned in Aso Ebi, electrified the arena in celebration of the annual event and praised the Governor for what they described as his teacher-friendly  policies.

Speaking at the event, Oyebanji, represented by the Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, said his government has ensured expeditious and timely payment of salaries, deductions, and approval of multimillion naira worth of housing and vehicle loans to motivate the teachers and shore up their outputs.

The Governor, who described the teachers as the fortress of the education sector, promised to provide all the necessary incentives that could propel and buoy Ekiti’s rating in educational advancement of the country.

Miffed by reported cases of examination malfeasance in the system, the Governor warned that his government would not tolerate examination malpractices under any guise, promising to wield the big stick against promoters of such sordid action in the state.

“I want to sternly warn school managers at all levels that government has zero tolerance for examination malpractice and investigations are  ongoing to look into some of the allegations of connivance in the promotion of examination malpractice in some schools which led to seizure of SSCE certificate examination.

“I haven’t sent any school manager to impress me with bogus result to prove anything to me. We are not in phony competition to earn fake glory that is cancerous to the future of our young ones.

“Ekiti  has a great name as a land of scholarship, learning and integrity, we will not tolerate any unwholesome and unethical practice from ant school or staff that could tarnish this glorious reputation”, Oyebanji stated.

The Chairman, Nigerian Union of Teachers(NUT), Ekiti State,  Com. Daodu Bamidele, announced that all the teachers are appreciative of the governor’s positively impactful  educational policies and pronounced that  they are solidly backing his reelection in 2026.

Daodu commended Oyebanji for his positive contributions to strengthen the sector, urging  the government to initiate policies that will checkmate brain- drain in education and retain the best brains within the system.

To accomplish the foregoing, he sought immediate implementation of 65 years retirement for teachers, as obtainable in some states of the federation to give his colleagues job security and relevance in the scheme  of things.

“All the teachers in our dear state  are appreciative of what the Governor has done. He has paid some of the arrears owed by the past administration and also initiated new ones. For the 2026 governorship election, we want to say that we are solidly behind him”, he said.

In his submission, his counterpart in Academic Staff Union of Secondary School( ASUSS), Com Sola Adigun, advocated that the secondary school teachers should be given the leeway to ascend grade level 17 for better career progression.

Credit: thenationonlineng.net