The Provost of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze, Anambra, Prof Theresa Okoli, has stressed the need to enhance the competence of teaching staff in tertiary institutions through ICT knowledge.
She stated this recently while distributing new HP laptops to the institution’s chief and principal lecturers to aid their research and academic work.
The laptop distribution is part of the Revitalisation Programme, a negotiated agreement between the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) and the federal government to improve the working conditions of teaching staff in colleges of education. The distribution exercise was held at the Council Chambers on the main campus.
Okoli said the revitalization programme resulted from fruitful negotiations by unions with the federal government to improve their welfare and working conditions. She explained that the college’s non-teaching staff also benefitted from the exercise, which was tailored to empower their members for higher productivity.
The provost said the college complied strictly with the agreement reached with the unions during the negotiation stage. According to her, the sharing of the laptops started with COEASU executives, followed by chief lectures and later principal lecturers to underscore the need for seniority in service.
She promised that subsequent batches would include younger lecturers of the college, saying that no staff would be left behind.
She urged the beneficiaries to use the laptops as work tools in their respective offices and increase their productivity to promote their professional development and the overall growth of the college.
Okoli also commended the federal government for the revitalisation programme and expressed faith that it would retool the benefitting staff for better performance in their duties. She stressed the need for worker motivation, describing such packages as incentives for productivity.
She also emphasised the importance of requisite ICT knowledge among college staff and expressed hope that laptops would encourage e-learning and boost research work among teaching staff.
While presenting the laptops to his colleagues, the COEASU National Vice-President of the Research and Documentation/South-East Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Churchill Okonkwo, commended the union and the federal government for successfully implementing the programme.
He also extolled the college management for distributing the laptops and urged his colleagues to ensure efficient use of the work tool.
He urged teaching staff to take their research seriously and work selflessly for the growth of the college.
The COEASU Chairman, FCET Umunze Chapter, Dr. Okeke Sunday, congratulated the beneficiaries and commended the provost for the hitch-free exercise, which he said brought immense joy among the staff.
He assured the lecturers that they would utilise the laptops efficiently to discharge their duties in the college.
