NTI boss extols staff over 2014 achievements

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Director-General/Chief Executive of the National Teachers Institute (NTI),Dr. Aminu Ladan Sharehu, has extolled the hardworking staff of the Institute and took time out to mention and explain some of achievements recorded in the last one year.

According to Dr. Sharehu, the executive management team is working hard in making giant stride to break new grounds, apart from the regular activities of the Institute, such as monitoring of contact sessions, conduct of marking, processing and release of examination results, conduct of MDGs, effecting the 33% increase on monthly pensions and paying the pensioners five months arrears, 2014 promotion exercise was successfully carried out, etc., management was able to break new grounds in 2014.

Some of the issues the DG highlighted include Staff Housing Scheme through Public-Private-Partnership (PPP). The NTI staffs are to start getting allocation of their housing in six months time, just as plans have reached advance stage to establish a microfinance bank at its headquarters in Kaduna, to ease access to low interest loans for the staff.

The houses are located along Jere-Abuja road and the foundation laying ceremony and flag-off of development was performed on the 18th of December 2014. The staffs are to pay through installment covering certain period. He revealed that each 3-bedroom flat would cost each staff a bit above five million naira.

He listed the management achievements in 2014 to include: successful conduct of orientation and matriculation for fresh students and course facilitators, expansion and strengthening of all the institute academic programmes, conduct of the new MDGs teacher training workshops, construction of the permanent Convocation Square, replacement of retired and resigned staff, which has led to reduced work-load for the staff, 33 percent increase on monthly pension, with five months arrears paid.

Others are successful conduct of the 2013 promotion exercise, introduction of new centres for consultancy capacity-building for teachers, construction of fire station, on-going construction of computer laboratories in the 36 states, with 20 states completed among others.

The congregational meeting, which started under the administration of Dr. Aminu Ladan Sharehu, is usually used to appraise the strengths of the management, staff and the institute to identify weaknesses in order to position them for better and optimum performance in the years ahead.