A member of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Uju-Chima (PDP, Imo), has urged the National Assembly to ensure that the 2023 budget for teachers and education development is shored up in appreciation of their impact on society.
The World Teachers’ Day was celebrated on Wednesday with the theme “The Transformation of Education begins with a Teachers”.
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In a statement in Lagos, Uju-Chima who represents Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta, Oru constituency said the house of representatives must find a way to reflect more for teachers as soon as it receives the 2023 budget from the President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said, “As parliamentarians, I want to urge us today that the budget we are going to receive from Mr President (Muhammadu Buhari) in a couple of day, we devote enough percentage for teachers and enough percentage for the development of education system in Nigeria.
“Why I said this is because, the United Nations charter says ‘education should be given topmost priority in order to develop a nation.
“If we watch the level of insecurity today in the country, it is borne out of the level of ignorance and illiteracy.”
He stated that there was the need for every Nigerian to appreciate teachers because without them, members of the house for instance, including him would be in their various villages.
The lawmaker noted that the nation’s lingua franca existed because of teachers otherwise lawmaking would have been almost impossible considering the different tongues and tribes represented at the assembly.
“I am very optimistic that if the teachers were not there, maybe some of us might be farming, being in the village and not have the opportunity of coming to Abuja to see the level of development we have seen or are seeing today in Abuja.
“This is why it is very imperative for us to use this medium again to celebrate the teachers, most especially the ones that taught and impacted directly on my life as a student either in primary, secondary or in the university,” Uju-Chima said.
He added that teachers inculcated most of virtues and discipline being exhibited as lawmaker.
According to him, most of them hated many of these teachers for being disciplinarian but their discipline paid off.
“Those canes were actually to remodel us,” he added.
He commended the Speaker of the House for creating opportunity to celebrate the teachers on the World Teachers’ Day
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