Teachers Roundtable Discussion: A wake-up call to Teachers to Assume Responsibility.

On the 17th of February, 2024. PristineSACC Education and Technology Initiative organized TEACHERS ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION on teachers’ socioeconomic status, teachers’ job performance and students’ academic achievement  with the purpose of empowering teachers to consider a variety of ways to structure activeness and effective teaching that enables multiple modes of engagement, create various pathways for students achievement and accessibility in the classrooms while maintaining their optimal well-being.

The Discussion’s theme focused on “Inspire and Empower to adopt, adapt and improve.

Miss Balogun Hanifat, representing the executive director, Mrs Umar Aishat, welcomed and fed the participants with the stance of PristineSACC Education and Technology Initiative. She stated that  P.SACC  is a non-profit and non-governmental Organization that focuses on promoting SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

The programme manager, S.A. Odore, gave the teachers an overview of the request for and goal of the teacher roundtable discussion. He claims that although teachers are important stakeholders in educational institutions and should lead the task in promoting high-quality education in Nigeria, teachers are not to be blamed for the ineffectiveness of education in Nigeria because of the reward system.

Teachers are under-recognized, underappreciated, and unmotivated, and their pay does not cover their costs. However, the socioeconomic position of teachers needs to be addressed to curb these difficulties.

Mr. S.A. Odore emphasized the value of technology in reducing the workload for educators. He mentioned, for example, using artificial intelligence to create and build lesson plans and notes.

To supplement their income and maintain excellent well-being in both inside and outside of the classroom, he encouraged teachers to utilize technology to free up time that would otherwise be spent preparing lesson plans and notes Teachers’ socioeconomic situation poses a serious risk to their effectiveness at work and to the academic success of their students. As a result, five syndicate groups were formed and given various questions to discuss. Among the topics are: Designing of  Action Plan to achieve any business ideas teachers can venture into to get more income to augment their salary, Designing of  Action Plan on what teachers can do to ensure that their financial status does not affect their classroom activities, what teachers can do to improve their income, Influence and Impact in the classroom and lastly Designing of action plan on how teachers can adopt and implement technology to ease their teaching workload and be more effective.
The syndicate group presentations were enlightening, informative, perceptive, and incredibly motivating because they offered a wealth of workable answers.

The following are some of the suggestions made for improving the socioeconomic standing of teachers and their income: Becoming a SAVVY TUTOR, Content Creators,Entrepreneurs, Researcher, Data Scientist, publishing materials online and many more.

Programme Director Mr. Sodiq Ajala commended the speakers and attendees for their thought-provoking talk and encouraged educators to be optimistic, and consistent, and to pursue knowledge via study and self-improvement because their mentality and mindset will act as a catalyst for obtaining a top-notch education and realization of Quality Education in Nigeria.