Stakeholders warn Nigeria’s young teachers against corrupt tendencies

Young teachers across the federation have been urged by stakeholders to shun the get-rich-quick syndrome among Nigerians in order to live aboard board and be role models for the students in particular and society at large.

Delivering a paper on the theme, “Young teachers: The future of the profession,” in Awka, Anambra State, the guest speaker, Dr.Chinelo Okechukwu, observed that young teachers are not insulated from the major ills of the get-rich-quick society

She stressed the need for timely re-training programme for young teachers to enable them to acquire new knowledge and skills, as well as the capacity to work independently and collaboratively.

“A get-rich-quick society is where wrongdoing contravenes the rules of acceptable behaviour and evil becomes modern cancer, a hydra-headed monster which people chemically call “fastness”.

“Evidences abound that majority of Nigerians are self-oriented, they try to get rich irrespective of the means, they want the best and at the top irrespective of their capabilities and even want to secure whatever they desire using either money or connection.

“Given this type of situation, it is obvious that young teachers in this country will not behave otherwise. The society is so materialistic that young people now use the money to buy both certificate and appointments that bring them into the teaching profession.

“This ushered in indiscipline cum professional misconduct into the teaching profession. Other evils like truancy, haphazard knowledge and impersonation are more among the N-Power teachers These unethical behaviours are more among young teachers who use teaching profession as the last hope of the hopeless, that is, the profession for those who have nothing better to do, “ Okechukwu added”

As a way out, said good, authentic and sustainable mentorship should be applied to encourage young teachers to assimilate quality standards like respect for the dignity of an individual, dignity of labour and school self-evaluation.”

According to her, the teaching profession which she observed is a vocation, calls for high personnel standards of ethics, responsibility and morality, stressing that great teachers, ‘“they provide good, quality education in line with the curriculum and support parents in their contributions to education delivery.

She said irrespective of how good or lofty educational programme looks, “without good, knowledgeable, dedicated teachers, the programme will get to a moribund stage.

Noting that teachers undoubtedly remain the manager of knowledge and no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers, she disclosed that intelligent and resourceful teachers should be the foundation of quality and relevance of education at all levels.