Governor Obaseki said this why receiving in audience, the leadership of the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) led by its acting chairman, Mr Iyalomhe Akhagbemhe.
The governor used the occasion to assure the leadership of the NUT that the State Government was working with State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to fill the 3,000 Npower vacancy allocated to the State.
He said that government would not only fill the vacancy but would train the teachers and provide them with instructional materials.
He also advised the NUT leadership to think of reviewing the schools curriculum in the state so that those who pass out from schools would not only be employable but could also become entrepreneurs.
Governor Obaseki reiterated his electioneering promise to create 200,000 jobs and noted that teachers also had fundamental role to play in achieving the feat.
The governor said the process must begin with the solid foundation for the pupils and students, stressing that it was high time stakeholders began to rethink the purpose of education and the type to be given out.
“As teachers, you play very fundamental role in the future of this country, not just in education.
“But for us, we must begin to think about our curriculum, so that the people we produce from the school system are people who can sustain themselves in life.
“So that after JSS, you should be able to do something with your life.
“So it’s time to rethink the purpose of education and the type of education to be given out.
“We are currently working with SUBEB to fill the 3,000 Npower vacancy given to the state.
“We will not only fill the vacancy, we will also train and provide instructional materials to the teachers”; he said.
Governor Obaseki disclosed that most of the subsidy to the state would be channeled towards vocational and technical education, saying “there is the need to work and ensure that by 2020 our children have skills.
“To do this, we have to train and retrain, hence our focus on technical education.
“We need to have center of excellence to strengthen our teaching call”, he added.
Obaseki, who emphasized that schools supervision was also part of the training, gave the assurance that government would re-jig the school’s management system for the better.
He said that his administration would not neglect human capacity development as it was key to achieving all desired goals.
The Governor further said that the teachers, mostly regarded as those who produce the best brains and the best minds, was the reason his predecessor pursued the policy that saw the upgrade of teachers to the level of Permanent Secretary.
“Since it is a government of continuity, I will continue with the policy because it’s the same administration”, he said.
Earlier, Akhagbemhe advised the governor to ensure he appointed square pegs in square holes to drive his desired developmental stride for the state.
He appealed to the governor for the support of teachers, adding that some of the challenges in the educational sector included the non-payment of leave transport grant for 2016.
Akhagbemhe listed the non-release of promotion since 2012, dearth of teachers as well as non-availability of instructional materials as challenges encountered in most schools.