The need for every child to access basic education irrespective of his or her place of residence was reiterated by the Executive Chairman, Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board, ASUBEB, Awka, Dr. Vera Nkiru Nwadinobi.
Addressing the participants at the 4-Day training of one hundred teachers selected from the 21 Local Government Areas of Anambra State, tagged: “Up-scaling the Capacity of Multigrade and Mixed Ability Teachers”, held at Archbishop A. K. Obiefuna Retreat, Pastoral and Conference Centre, Okpuno Awka, Dr. Nwadinobi expressed confidence that the resource persons have impacted the requisite knowledge to the teachers, especially the newly recruited ones, so as to be able to teach pupils from hard-to-reach areas where enrollment is still very low.
The training organised by the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, Abuja in collaboration with Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board, ASUBEB, Awka themed: “Education for All is the Responsibility of All” was aimed at enhancing the capacity of teachers to offer relevant and high quality education to every child as a right.
According to the ASUBEB boss, literacy and numeracy are the rights of every child irrespective of his or location, adding that the State Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that every child in Anambra State receives quality education and at no cost.
While appreciating the resource persons, Dr. Anuli Aguiyi from Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, and Dr. Njideka Ezeonyejiaku, from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, the ASUBEB Chairman enjoined the teachers to be more effective and efficient in teaching and learning for the children to learn better.
“The State Governor is intentional and deliberate about the continuous development of teachers. As a teacher himself, Governor Soludo understands the need for the continuous professional development of teachers because quality teachers results in quality education”, Dr. Nwadinobi affirmed.
Continuing, she noted that the training was made possible for Anambra teachers because the State Governor fulfilled the conditions and requirements for accessing the UBEC grants, hence he ensured that the challenges facing the basic education sector are mitigated, urging them to cascade all they have learnt in their respective schools.
Also speaking, the Officer from Training Department, UBEC, Abuja, Mrs Uzoamaka Ominyi who came to monitor the training stated that the training is aimed at preparing the teachers to be able to handle a class with more than one grade with different characteristics, pointing out that the participants are expected to be able handle the challenges that may arise in Multigrade classes.
Commenting, the Director, Training, ASUBEB, Mrs Ifeyinwa Offia and the Desk Officer in charge of Training, Mrs Patience Ikeh assured the teachers that the state education system is increasingly being revived by the present administration in the state, charging them to accept posting to any part of the state and make positive impacts on the learners.
Some of the participants, including Mr. Joseph Nweze and Mrs Faith Okwu described the training as worthwhile, noting that they have been motivated to teach anywhere they are posted for the sake of the children.
Tutorials, group activities and presentation of the Manual for the Training of Education Teachers on Multigrade Teaching Methodology by the ASUBEB Chairman formed the highpoints of the training.
