Functional Education for Sustainable National Development: The Changing Role of Teachers

Abstract

The sustainable development of any nation today depends largely on the quality of education provided for her citizens. The teacher is vital to the success of any educational system aimed at ensuring that individuals contribute maximally to sustainable national development. This paper sought to identify what would be considered as functional education. It also identifies specific roles of the teacher in providing functional education in view of the dynamic needs of the nation especially with globalization which includes: learning facilitator, provoker of curiosities, motivator, digital instructor, a resource provider, a promoter of engagementsand collaboration. It was recommended among others that teachers must recognize the changing roles of teachers and commit to continuous self-development to enable them fit fully into a functional educational system and government at all levels should show its commitment and political-will to ensuring functional education through its funding, policy making, supervision and monitoring of educational projects and programmes