….Governor splashes N47.8m gift on best teachers, berates exam fraud

Teachers in primary and secondary schools in Ekiti State, on Saturday, declared support for the 2026 governorship reelection bid of Governor Biodun Oyebanji, saying this will further afford him unfettered opportunity to consolidate on the policies being initiated to revamp the education sector.

This endorsement came to the fore, as Governor Oyebanji celebrated the teachers for their scintillating performance to uplift the educational standard, by splashing a staggering sum of N47.8 million cash gift on different categories of best teachers.

In a stern fashion, the governor stressed the resolve of his administration to stamp out examination fraud that could blight the integrity of government.

The teachers gave the endorsement, on Saturday, on the occasion of the 2024 World Teachers’ Day, held at the Ekitiparapo Pavilion in Ado Ekiti, the State Capital, with the theme: ‘Valuing Teachers’ Voices: Towards a New Social Contract for Education’.

Going by breakdown of the financial incentives, Mrs Modupe Folayemi of Saint Francis’ Primary school, Igbara Odo and Mr. Odunayo Oriloye of Notre Dame Grammar School, Usi Ekiti, received a whopping sum of N6 million each, as the best teachers at both primary and secondary schools respectively.

The venue of the event was filled to appreciable capacity, as teachers across educational cadres, adorned in Aso Ebi, electrified the arena in celebration of the annual event and praised the governor for all his teacher- centric policies.

In his address at the event, 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 to 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.

In his address, 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 won’t tolerate examination malpractice under any guise, promising to wield the big stick against promoters of such sordid action in the state.

“I want to sternly warn all 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.

On efforts being devised to fortify the sector, Oyebanji said besides payment of salaries and other emoluments, that teachers were being trained locally and internationally to sharpen their mental horizons and increase propensity for better delivery.

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The governor applauded the Nigerian Union of Teachers, Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary schools and Association of Public Schools Head teachers of Nigeria for their partnership, professionalism and cooperation at all times.

“It is on record that our administration has initiated car and housing loans for primary school teachers, ensured distribution of laptop computers to public secondary schools, colleges and special schools to mitigate the consequential personnel gap and regular disbursement of car/housing loans to eligible secondary school teachers, among others.

“Through the adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment, a World Bank assured project, many of our public schools have been refurbished and perimeter fences have been constructed in line with our safe school initiative.

“We have also fulfilled our promise to address the issue of career progression for graduate teachers in primary schools by approving their advancement from grade level 15 to 16, so as to bring them to a parallel peak with their counterparts in the Civil Service”.