By Segun Ogunsanya
There is no gainsaying the fact that teachers are crucial to the process of education. In appraising the nexus between teaching and learning, teachers rank highest in importance because they organically facilitate the most critical part of education.
Strictly speaking, the ecosystem, which comprises children, parents, teachers, government, writers, publishers, and now technology innovators, is brought to life by teachers. They not only facilitate learning, but also provide guidance and inspire learners. Some teachers have been known to exert greater influence on children’s development than some parents.
They create a supportive environment within and outside the classroom for learning and development. At a personal level, I wonder where I would have been today without the caring and supportive intervention of my teachers, at various levels of my academic endeavour. Teachers are great mentors.So, on this occasion of World Teachers Day, I remember and
pay tribute to my teachers, and indeed all teachers in Africa and
across the world, especially those who do great work
for insufficient pay
and, often, without acknowledgment and recognition. There
is a common saying that “Teachers’ reward is in heaven”.
This is an unfortunate statement, given that teachers,
like other professionals, have responsibilities, including children
who require shelter, food, clothing, healthcare, and other
necessities of life. So, teachers deserve to be rewarded, both here and hereafter. This
tribute, therefore, is my little token of appreciation and recognition of the
important role that teachers played in my
life, and continue to, in the lives of current
and future political and business leaders.
Indeed, as American historian, Henry Adams rightly
stated, “A teacher affects eternity; he (she) can never tell where his
(her) influence stops.” I doubt that my primary school teacher, Mrs. Ala,
could ever imagine that her effort in making me fall in love with
mathematics would be the driving force for me to become a science student, an
Electrical/Electronics Engineer, a Chartered Accountant, and the
Chief Executive of a telecommunications company operating in 14 African
countries. Such is the span and strength of the influence of
teachers.
As beneficiaries of their patience, dedication and
support, we must never take them for granted, much less
forget their service to us. Over the years, teaching and learning
have undergone seismic changes in methodology particularly with the advent
of modern technology. This has completely transformed education, as
we previously knew it. Modern education has embraced digital
technology, which features the
internet, data-enabled devices, and online resources.
Digital
tools and internet connectivity provide both teachers and
learners with incredibly vast resources, which make research,
teaching and learning a lot easier. Beyond the ease, it also bridges the
educational gap between advanced and developing countries, as well as between
privileged and disadvantaged children, especially those in
hard-to-reach locations.
Emphasis has been disproportionately placed on empowering
children with devices and internet connectivity to enable them to get on the
superhighway of online education and catch up with their peers around the
world. This is rather counterintuitive,
considering teachers’ important role in supporting learners.
So, teachers must also be provided with access to the
internet and digital devices. More importantly, they must be trained
(continuously) on how to use these resources because, as they say, you
cannot give what you do not have. For effective and productive global
collaboration between teachers and students in Africa and their
peers across the world, teachers must be motivated, equipped and
empowered.
I am proud to state that as part of our $57 million
collaboration with UNICEF, Airtel Africa is empowering both children
and their teachers in the countries we do business in. Aside from
providing devices, connecting schools to the internet and zero-rating hundreds
of online learning platforms, we are training teachers on how to utilize these
modern educational resources to teach Africa’s future leaders. In Tanzania, for
example, over 2500 teachers have been trained in preparation for the connection
of 50 schools, besides providing desktop computers,
laptops, tablets and smart television sets. The story is the
same, in varying scale, in the other countries. Eventually,
Airtel Tanzania will cover the entire 5000 schools in the country and train all
the teachers!
During a recent visit to one of the schools adopted by
Airtel Africa in Nigeria with some members of the Board and
Senior Leadership, I was delighted to see how our contribution has enhanced
teaching and learning. The teachers assisted their students to log on to the
Nigerian Learning Platform (NLP) to access lessons. In fact, the NLP also
contains an online training series for teachers, peer review and
continuous assessment modules. This is the right, and only, direction that education
should be headed to realistically transform the lives of children and
promote innovation at early stages.
We acknowledge teachers’ crucial role in the ecosystem and we continue to seek partners for collaboration in
expanding the scope of this intervention. The COVID-19 pandemic ironically
did one important good: highlighted the deficiencies in our education systems
across the African continent.
These
include infrastructure, funding and curricula, which are now being
addressed by many governments, with varying degrees of success. As a
matter of fact, the obvious gaps identified during the pandemic inspired Airtel
Africa’s decision to invest in digitization of education with UNICEF, the most
experienced international organiaation in matters affecting children.
A World Bank study on Learning Poverty rate in
sub-Saharan Africa, indicates that only one out of every 10
children aged 1-10 years can write and solve basic mathematical
problems. This dire situation cannot be reversed without highly
skilled, trained, and motivated teachers. So, while I give a shout
out to all the teachers on their day, I add my
voice to the calls on governments to invest more
in education generally, and teacher education, in
particular.
The annual budgetary allocation to education should aim to achieve
the 20% recommended by the United Nations. Also, policy makers
should consider removing all bottlenecks to digitizing education systems
including exempting data and digital devices from duty and
taxes. Countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, and Madagascar
have done well in this regard.
Finally, I call on other corporate organizations, especially
tech companies to invest in teacher education and empowerment.
Perhaps, we should also establish credible award platforms
to identify and recognize teachers who excel in their call of duty. That
way, teachers would feel a greater sense of accountability and
pride in their work. Once again, I celebrate African teachers today
and will always do!
*Dr.
Ogunsanya, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, contributed this
piece from Dubai.
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