The Lagos State Government on Tuesday expressed its commitment to leverage on technology in achieving the goals of education in the 21st century.

The Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, said this at Performance Series 3.1. Webinar organized for teachers by the Teaching Service Commission.

Hamzat observed that knowledge is the most significant currency in today’s world, adding that it is far more expensive than crude oil.

He said: “As an Administration, we plan to comprehensively address the issue of capacity building for our teachers.”

According to Hamzat, teachers remain the most critical element in imparting knowledge.

The deputy governor said that teachers’ reward could be received here on earth and not in heaven.

“We are saying the only way to do that is to make them better for themselves. Continuous education and improvement of yourself are the means to achieve that.

“It is this structured training that ensures we achieve that goal,” he said.

Hamzat said that any teacher who takes advantage of the structured training and undertakes continuous self-improvement would not only be outstanding in the job they do but would also enjoy personal health benefits.

“Data is the new currency of the world. Data is fetching more money than crude oil.

“If we develop our human resources, we will be able to earn four times more than we get from crude oil,” Hamzat said.

The deputy governor charged teachers to imbibe technology and leverage on its advantages, to be able to deliver on their very unique assignments of training and educating their students.

He stated that a good teacher must be passionate about teaching, adding that deep knowledge of the subject matter to be taught was equally important.

The deputy governor urged teachers to be constantly reminded about the essence of education namely to arm their students with a great tool for life.

Earlier in her remarks, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, noted that the webinar series was designed to “keep in touch with teachers in a training format during the pandemic, while also deploying same for training during  the post-pandemic period.”

Adefisayo said that no fewer than 4,000 teachers hooked up to the platform when the webinar series started.

According to her, the government will continue to ensure that the training of teachers is in line with the goals of educating children in Lagos State.