By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri
The North East Development Commission, NEDC, in partnership with Limo Holdings Nigeria Limited, is to train 300 teachers in Borno State.
The two-week capacity training workshop is for teachers in the various primary and junior secondary schools in the state.
Declaring the training sessions open on Monday in Maiduguri, the NEDC’s Managing Director, Mohammed Alkali, represented by Sa’adatu Ahmed Shehu, disclosed that, “The Education Endowment Fund, EEF, was to address the poor human development indices and the rising rates of illiteracy and poverty in the North-East.
According to her, the 2018 United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, Human Development Report also indicated that the region lags behind in both capital and human resources.
She added, “We are to harness and develop sufficient human resources, including the training of teachers in their various capacities to teach in schools.”
She noted that this could fast track educational infrastructures, as well as the socio-economic development of the region affected by the 13-year Boko Haram insurgency.
Continuing, she added, “The Commission and EEF will continue to partner on the training of more teachers under the Teacher Training Programme, TETP.
“In the first phase, 1,800 teachers were trained from the six states in the region.”
She noted further that teachers were the most hit in the over a decade terrorism in the three states, because according to her, teachers were seen as the direct agents of Western education.
She, therefore lamented that before the conflict, the teaching capacities of teachers were, however, low and deficient.
She enthused, “This what informed us to intervene and continue to build up teachers’ capacities across.”
Besides, she added that Gombe, Taraba and Bauchi states require teachers’ training due to the influx of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs.
She noted that the influx of displaced persons exerts additional pressure on the educational system in the region, adding, “The second phase of the training programme was to target 1,800 participants in the education sector of the region.”
According to her, the teacher trainees comprise 135 classroom teachers, 15 administrators from both the primary and secondary schools in the region.
On the methodologies of teaching, Lawan Bukar of Limo Holdings, said that there are six modules comprising language, science, mathematics, classroom management and technology solutions.
Bukar, who was the former Registrar at the University of Maiduguri said, “The aim of the workshop is to equip primary school teachers, head teachers and State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB
administrative staff with current knowledge/trends on the teaching-learning of the core subjects – English Language, Mathematics and Basic Science and Technology – school management, classroom management, and technology solutions.
He said, “It is hoped that at the end of the workshop, teachers, and head teacher will be able to explain, select and use the appropriate pedagogies for teaching the four skills of English as second language to their learners and adequately explain the importance of grammar in language teaching and facilitate language acquisition in their learners effectively.
“It is also hoped that they would demonstrate the knowledge grasp of the pedagogies for teaching the four basic language skills and poetry appreciation and explain what and describe what subject integration in language learning is.
“More so, to explain what science and science technology are appropriately, make learning of Mathematics meaningful to learners, assessing learners, use the new trends in teaching Mathematics for effective teaching-learning.
“This is in addition to identifying the common errors in teaching Mathematics and avoid them in their teaching Mathematics-on-hand, handle difficult topics in the teaching-learning of Mathematics with ease and have to manage schools effectively, using appropriate leadership styles, inclusion and inclusive strategies, assessing listening and speaking skills, stress and time management techniques as well as ICT skills considering the threat of armed conflict environment under which teaches and learners are operating.”
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, represented by his Special Adviser on Education, Tijjani Lawan, urged the participants to be attentive during the two-week capacity building of teachers.
He said that their capacity building to teach in various schools, could also secure the future of both pupils and students in the state.
He said that 150 teachers, each from the primary and junior secondary cadres are to be trained in the state.
