Rotary Empowers Over 100 Teachers In Abuja

Rotary International District 9127 on Saturday organized a one-day capacity workshop for over 100 teachers in Abuja.

The workshop, aimed at enhancing the educational quality of the participants, was themed: “Empowering Educators for Literacy Excellence,”.

It was organized by the district’s committee on Basic Education and Literacy in collaboration with Rotary Clubs from Zones 1 and 2.

Speaking, the District 9127 Governor, Rotarian Mike Nwanoshiri, emphasized the importance of teacher empowerment in creating an educated society.

Nwanoshiri said the participants were drawn from across the Rotary-adopted villages, adding that the workshop was aimed at increasing their educational quality.

Represented by the Assistant Governor, Rotarian Emeka Iloegbunam, Nwanoshiri, said: “Education is a powerful tool against societal vices and poverty. By empowering teachers, we empower the critical mass of society—the students.

“Today we are empowering over a hundred teachers drawn from across Abuja, from the local communities, from the city centre, from private schools, from local schools, community schools. We also believe that when these people come together, they can also learn one from another.

“It is by ensuring that people get the right information they should have at all particular points in time. A philosopher mentioned one very critical thing I mentioned earlier, education makes a man unfit to be a slave.

“So, most of the things we have in society today can be reduced. Most of the vices we have, most of the poverty and the hopelessness and helplessness we have in society today can be reduced if we increase the level of education.

“Now, the critical mass of society are the students and learners, but those who empower this critical mass of people are the teachers. So, one of the best ways to empower the populace is to empower those who empower the communities, and these are the teachers.

“So, that is why Rotary is doing this. Furthermore, Rotary is an organisation of professional, businessmen and women who see a vision where people come together to take action to cause lasting changes across the globe, in our societies and ourselves. So, taking action in the area of empowering the communities is very, very important.

Also speaking, the Rotary’s President of Presidents, Rotarian Rabi Mohammed, said education is the key to security awareness, hence, the workshop.

She said, “Most of the teachers you see here are from our adopted communities. What it means is that these are schools that we have adopted to ensure that we see to their needs as a school.

“Education is very key. Today, we have insecurity in the country. I mean, if you’re educated, if you’re empowered in that angle, you will not be hired or be convinced by Boko Haram to go and be part of the insecurity in the country we’re having today.

“So, we feel education is the key to security awareness. We, the Rotarians, volunteers, and came together and said, look, let’s pull funds together and ensure we train these teachers. They are coming free of charge and they will go back with some materials. It is free training for them’’.

Earlier, the Head of Legal/Private Schools at the Teachers Registration Council Of Nigeria (TRCN), Barrister Ukoha Juliet, said the workshop would afford those who were not qualified to know how to be qualified teachers.

Juliet, who admitted that 80 per cent of them were qualified teachers, encouraged the remaining participants to obtain the TRCN certificate to be qualified as teachers.