Ebonyi Trains 500 Teachers

The Ebonyi Government has began the training of 500 primary and junior secondary school teachers as part of efforts to enhance the quality of education in the state.

The four-day workshop was organised by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in conjunction with the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA).

The Commissioner for Education, Mr Ndubuisi Agbo, said the training and retraining of teachers was vital to the attainment of quality education by pupils and students in the state.

Agbo, represented by a Director in the Education Ministry, Mr Ogbonna Onwa, noted that “no nation can develop above the quality of her teachers. “A stock of highly trained and motivated teachers is a catalyst for high quality of students, education and the national economy.”

The commissioner stressed the importance of continuous assessment, saying it was introduced as a result of flaws noticed in the single-term examination procedure used in the past. He enjoined the teachers to maintain the continuous assessment procedure in order to attain the much desired quality education in Ebonyi.

“The task of improving the quality of education in the country requires collective effort.”

Earlier, the Director-General (D-G) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NIEPA, Dr Peter Ojedele had said that globalisation had engendered competition which, in turn, required globally accepted minimum standards in every aspect of life, including educational development.

Ojedele, represented by a former D-G/CEO of NIEPA, Prof. Taiwo Ajayi, explained that 31 training programmes would be executed for teachers in the state before the end of the year. “The teachers on their part should ensure healthy academic competition that will affect their wards in class positively,” he said, urging the participants to imbibe the skills and knowledge being taught them, and apply same in their lessons in school.

The SUBEB Acting Chairman, Mrs Perpetua Elom, said the workshop, which focused on “Continuous Assessment in Schools”, provided a platform for the revival of the basic fundamental principles of the education industry.

“The workshop also provides a forum for the consolidation of the tenets and prospects of the 6-3-3-4 system of education in Nigeria and Ebonyi State in particular.