The Regalo Hope Foundation (RHF) has urged teachers to uphold professional ethics and accountability to preserve the integrity and legacy of teaching.

Chinenye Onuorah, project director, RHF, made the call on Saturday at the 2026 RHF Educators Seminar held at the foundation’s Resource and Learning Centre.

The seminar commemorated World Teachers’ Day, celebrated annually on October 5, and sought to empower educators and strengthen the future of teaching.

The event also provided a platform for the formal induction of 83 educators into the RHF Leadership Academy.

Ms Onuorah urged teachers to disclose students’ academic inadequacies to parents to enable timely support and address learning gaps.

She cautioned parents against moving children between schools, including “miracle centres”, simply to secure good grades without corresponding academic effort.

She said such practices could weaken students’ commitment to learning and encourage dependence on shortcuts rather than genuine academic development.

“Parents should work with teachers to address learning gaps, rather than moving children around in search of grades that may not reflect their abilities,” she said.

Jane Obodoekea, RHF director of operations, explained the seminar’s theme, ‘Standing with Teachers, 60 Years of Protecting the Profession, Advancing its Status and Shaping Our Future’.

Ms Obodoekea said the seminar focused on empowering educators with practical knowledge and skills.

She said preserving the profession’s legacy required addressing poor administration, corruption and ineffective practices capable of weakening standards and public confidence.

“A legacy worth passing to the next generation cannot be built on broken foundations. Before preservation, we must first focus on standardising excellence,” she said.

Ms Obodoekea expressed concern over teachers’ involvement in examination malpractice, saying such conduct contradicted the values educators were expected to instil in students.

“For example, we have educators involved in examination malpractice. You teach a student in an examination or give the student an ‘expo’; what legacy are you passing on?” she asked.

She said government, school owners, teachers, parents and students must collectively protect the teaching profession and promote accountability and professionalism.

Ms Obodoekea said Nigeria needed a reliable, transferable and adaptable framework to help educators maintain professional standards and prepare future generations.

She said the RHF Teachers Leadership Academy offered courses covering teaching applications, learning and research, emotional intelligence, personal imaging, leadership and communication.

According to her, the courses also covered wellness, fitness and health to improve classroom experiences and strengthen teachers’ capacity.

The the 2026 World Teachers’ Day marks 60 years of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning teachers’ status.

This year’s theme, ‘Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures’, highlights the need to advance teaching.

Adelano Tolulope, a leadership academy associate and participant, urged stakeholders to improve teachers’ welfare and professional status.

Ms Tolulope said better welfare would help restore the dignity and glory of the teaching profession nationwide.

She also called for stronger policies against examination malpractice, saying pressure from school owners and parental support could undermine students’ reading culture.

“Teachers’ welfare, stronger policies against examination malpractice and parental support for reading culture are essential to restoring the dignity and glory of the teaching profession,” she said.

Another participant, Elijah Akhabigimhe, commended RHF for consistently organising impactful seminars, describing the latest edition as timely and highly informative.

Mr Akhabigimhe said the seminar provided participants with deeper insights into issues affecting teachers and the teaching profession.

He said RHF’s commitment to sustaining such conversations deserved commendation, adding that the topic was “quite expository and relevant”.

“While some of us see it as a way of encouraging educators, it has provided useful insights into the teaching profession.

“It also provided the need to sustain meaningful conversations around its development,” he said. 

(NAN)