The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has begun training 1,480 teachers drawn from remote and hard-to-reach schools across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the commission, the training is part of the federal government’s attempts to solve the country’s rising learning crisis. The training, which focuses on multi-grade and diverse ability approaches to teaching, would include 40 teachers from each state.
Speaking at the opening ceremony yesterday in Abuja, UBEC’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, stated that one of the challenges confronting UBE implementation in Nigeria is the inability of some learners to access quality education, which translates to improved learning outcomes, due to their location.
He said: “In the rural and hard-to-reach areas, the provision of quality education is challenging as attracting and retaining qualified teachers is difficult. This causes parents/guardians to be less inclined in enrolling their children in school or withdrawing them from school since their education needs are not met.
“The general outcry by stakeholders over the dearth of teaching staff in the rural and hard-to-reach schools attests to this fact.”
Bobboyi, who was represented by the commission’s Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Prof. Bala Zakari, said UBEC initiated the capacity building programme on multi-grade/mixed classroom pedagogies for teachers in the rural and hard-to-reach schools to equip them with skills for effective teaching and managing of learners at different levels or grades in class.
The UBEC boss said the training demonstrated the commitment and interest of the government at providing unfettered and quality basic education to every Nigerian child, notwithstanding their location and background.
He said: “In a world where classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse and complex, it is essential for teachers to be equipped with strategies that will enable them to effectively engage and support learners, irrespective of their age, ability, interest, and socio-economic background.”
Commenting on the multi-grade and mixed ability teaching approach, Bobboyi said the method allows teachers to create inclusive and dynamic learning environments where every learner has the opportunity to thrive and succeed.
He restated the government’s commitment towards addressing the challenges facing effective teaching and learning and to make all learners in Nigeria able to effectively compete with their contemporaries globally.
UBEC’s Director of Teacher Development, Mayowa Aleshin, said the training underscored the fact that the government was addressing different challenges militating against effective teaching and learning in any location in the country.
He said: “One of the solutions is the capacity building of teachers to arrest learning poverty in the schools in the Rural and Hard to Reach Areas and to ensure every child in school receives quality education.”