Stakeholders Canvass Teachers' Empowerment for Optimal Productivity

Stakeholders from tertiary institution across the country have stressed the need for teachers' motivation to be given cardinal attention to enable them attain optimal productivity.

They said this at the seventh annual academic conference of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), South-south zone, held recently in Obudu, Cross River State with the theme 'Innovation and Quality Education in Nigeria'.

The Zonal Coordinator, LOC Chairman and Zonal Secretary, Dr. Gloria Inyang, Dr. Opie Ngaji and Comrade Nwabukwu Azani in a communique, said teacher education and training should be aggressively pursued through regular workshops, conferences and seminars, so that they could update their pedagogical skills in consonance with emerging global trends.

Participants at the conference emphasised on innovation as a panacea for quality teaching and productive learning in the Nigerian education system and highlighted various strategies of innovation and its impact on the quality of education, with a view to ensuring that students compete favourably in the global market.

They said schools' curriculum must be restructured to remove the inherent contradictions embedded in it and accommodate innovations that will promote quality education. "Educational facilities must also be upgraded to meet global best practices."

Over 90 academic papers covering various disciplines were presented at the conference, while former Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Professor Monday Tommy Joshua delivered the keynote address.