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An education foundation in Akwa Ibom state, the Inoyo Toro Foundation which seeks to enhance the world view and productivity of teachers has emphasized the need for teachers to continually develop and update themselves in their subject areas so as not to impact their students with obsolete ideologies.
The chairman of the Inoyo Toro Foundation Award Screening Committee, Dr. Enobong Joshua stated this in Uyo when he led a team of academic consultants to administer examinations on two hundred and seventeen teachers to select winners for the 2015 Inoyo Toro foundation’s Annual Teachers Awards.
While expressing disappointment over the poor performance of some teachers in such core subject areas as English and Mathematics in the test, Dr. Joshua noted that the dwindling standard of education could be revamped by raising quality teachers through regular training and assessment.
Dr. Enobong Joshua who is the Director, General Studies Directorate of the University of Uyo, stressed that the thorough screening measures were adopted to ensure that only the very best very selected for the awards.
Dr. Enobong Udousoro of the Department of Chemistry who examined the chemistry teachers and Mr Enobong Udobong of the Department of Economics who examined the economics teachers, all of the University of Uyo, said it was important that teachers be regularly assessed to ensure that what the teach students were up to the required standard.
They commended the Inoyo Toro foundation for taking up the challenge of rewarding the people through whose effort and sacrifice great world changers were groomed and mentored.
Some of the teachers who spoke to Century Newsfront after the test included Mr Aniefiok Ekanem of Community Secondary School, Ikot Usen in Ibiono Ibom who teaches Chemistry, Mr Ndifreke Stanley of Mbak Comprehensive Secondary School, Itu Local Government Area who teaches English Language, Mr Nseobong Udoh of Western Annang Secondary Commercial School, Ukanafun, who teaches Physics, Mrs Mfon Udom of Christian Secondary Commercial School, Uyo who teaches Biology as well as Mr Anthony Bassey of Community Secondary Commercial School, Ikot Ekpeyak Ikono who teaches Fine Art.
They all expressed their gratitude to the foundation for appreciating hard work and diligence especially in the arduous task of impacting knowledge through teaching noting that the screening test reawakens in their consciousness the fact that to impart knowledge rightly, the teacher must first gain sufficient mastery of that field while reminding them of what their students experience during examination.
The programme coordinator of the Inoyo Toro Foundation, Miss Yvonne Nkang, said the teachers’ award was instituted eight years ago to reward hard work and excellence.
She explained that for winners to emerge the foundation invited all teachers from public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom whose students and schools perform excellently in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination to openly compete through an examination based on the secondary school curriculum in their subject areas.
The programme coordinator noted that for the 2015 award, a first prize winner must score atleast 70 percent in the written and oral examinations, the second prize winner atleast 60 percent while a third prize winner must score atleast 50 percent.
The 2015 Inoyo Toro Foundation Teachers Award for Excellence, the 8th in the series, is scheduled to hold in November.
