Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State on Saturday said workers in Ekiti State would begin to receive the N30,000 minimum wage from October 2019.
According to Fayemi the payment was to motivate workers, especially teachers, to be able to deliver the best and to reclaim the lost glory and pride of the State being the education nerve centre of the country.
The governor, who spoke amidst loud ovations from the teachers and public servants in attendance at the 2019 World Teachers’ Day celebration at Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, Ado Ekiti, however, tasked teachers to strive for the realization of the bid to return the state to a leading position in education.
He said, “We will commence payment of N30,000 minimum wage to workers in Ekiti with effect from this month. We are determined to reward diligence because the workers, particularly our teachers, have done the state proud.”
Fayemi, who reiterated the determination of his administration to protect and preserve the core values of making Ekiti the nation’s education capital, said that he decided to establish more schools in Ado Ekiti to decongest schools in the capital city and make learning more conducive.
The governor said, “The only way we can reclaim our lost glory in education is to encourage our teachers in and outside service. I will promote functional and technical education in this state.”
Fayemi said that the ongoing recruitment of over 2000 teachers into the public primary and secondary schools was part of the mission of the administration to safeguard the future of the state.
He said, “I have also ensured that all students of school age are in schools in line with Education Law which makes basic education compulsory and in line with global best practice.
“In this year’s West African Examination Council senior school certificate examination, Ekiti was ranked 12th. I want to salute our teachers, but that is not where Ekiti belong, we must continually do more to rise to number one”, he said.
The Provost, College of Education, Ikere Ekiti, Prof. Isaac Adeoluwa, in his lecture, made a case for ICT, saying, “Use of digital tools methodology makes learners innovative, expand the scope of retention, increase teachers competitiveness and relevance and create enabling environment for both learners and teachers.”
The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Ekiti State Wing, Olusegun Olugbesan, who lauded Fayemi for hearkening to the demand for more teachers, said the ongoing recruitment of teachers into public schools across the state, would help in strengthening the future of education.
Olugbesan appealed to Fayemi to pay all outstanding salaries and allowances for improved welfare and wellbeing of the teachers.
His counterpart in Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, Sola Adigun, said prompt and regular payment of salaries had rescued the teachers from poverty.
At the celebration with the theme: “Young teachers, the future of the profession,” Mr Henry Olaoluwa Asubiojo of Amoye Grammar School, Tajudeen Olaoye of Anglican Primary School, Esun Ekiti and Mrs Mojisola Ehinafe of Technical School, Ado Ekiti, were awarded cash price of N500,000 each for emerging as the best teachers in the state.
