Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and a not-for-profit organisation, Universal Learning Solutions (ULS), are working in partnership to deliver intensive training to teachers and dedicated government officials of Benue State under the Teacher Professional Development initiative.
A statement said the training began for 2625 primary school teachers as well as 50 officials on Monday 18th January.
According to the statement, the training is taking place in six training centres across the state, reaching teachers from all 23 Local Governments Areas.
Teachers attending the three-day training will be trained in specialist literacy teaching practices called ‘Jolly Phonics’, the statement said.
It added that the training will equip teachers with the expertise and tools required to enable them to transform, Primary 1, 2 & 3 pupils in government schools across the state.
“Jolly Phonics is a fun and interactive teaching tool that uses the synthetic phonics literacy teaching methodology. Synthetic phonics is mandated or recommended by governments around the world because of the way that it quickly provides children with the skills needed to read and write,” the statement said, noting that the Jolly Phonics literacy project in Benue state, in its fifth year, has gone from strength to strength.
Quoting ULS CEO Mr Gary Foxcroft, it said, said: “The Benue State Jolly Phonics is a fantastic opportunity for all children in Benue State to benefit from the opportunity to learn to read and write. The project will therefore help increase equity and equal opportunities for all children in Benue State.”
Mr Patrick Uzu, Nigeria Country Director at Universal Learning Solutions Initiative, highlighted the exceptional support and partnership offered by Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (BSUBEB) as being instrumental in the success of the project.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Benue SUBEB to train, resource and mentor its teachers in Jolly Phonics. This project gives the children of Benue State a brighter future. Our sincere thanks and appreciation go to the Executive Chairman, Benue SUBEB, Comrade Joeseph Utse and his team who have handled the training very professionally, he said.
Also, Universal Learning Solutions’ Chief Executive Officer, Mr Gary Foxcroft, praised the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for its continued support for the adoption of Jolly Phonics in government schools across Nigeria.
“UBEC have really recognised the tremendous impact that Jolly Phonics has been having on literacy levels in Nigeria’s government schools and have taken it on as one of their flagship programmes. This has helped us to initiate new projects across the country. Jolly Phonics is now being taught in all 36 states, and FCT. This is truly amazing and will help to improve the reading and writing abilities of millions of children in the years ahead,” he stated.
