By Funmi Ogundare
A total of 14,000 public school teachers in Lagos State have benefitted from the EkoExcel phase III empowerment programme, aimed at expanding their knowledge through technology and ensuring that they are globally competitive.
The training kicked-off in 2020.
Speaking at the brief graduation ceremonies held at Vetland Primary School, Agege and CMS Primary School, Bariga, respectively, the Chairman State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Wahab Alawiye-King congratulated the teachers while appealing to them to explore new opportunities by getting out of their comfort zones and expanding their frontier of knowledge.
According to him, “you need to challenge yourselves and be adventurous. Getting out of your comfort zones is the beginning of life as you are able to challenge yourselves and explore other possibilities using technology. You should also volunteer yourselves for service. We want you to go to your classrooms with the affective domain of teaching and learning.”
He described EkoExcel as the complete transformation of the basic education sector and a total departure from the traditional way of teaching in the classroom, designed to instil discipline and make teaching and learning more interactive and engaging using technology.
“It is about empowering the teachers to make them globally competitive. The important aspect is about integration of technology in our classroom by making the teachers more productive and efficient. We get to monitor the time of arrival and performance indicators,” he said, adding that empowerment goes beyong capacity building, but instilling disciplining in and rewarding them.
Asked his expectations from them, Alawiye- King said, “if we don’t have teachers who are academically qualified, there is no way we can reach our goal which is to transform the sector.”
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs. Abosede Adelaja also congratulated the teachers, while advising them to change the face of education and narrative in the state which is one of the transformation agenda of the present administration.
“We are dispersing you as ambassadors for transformation. One of the transformation agenda of the present administration is to change the face of education and the narrative. We are looking forward to see changes when we go to our schools. This is just the beginning as the state government has laid the foundation, it is now opened to you to build it up. You are going as ambassadors, we will meet up there as champions.”
The Permanent Board Member in charge of EkoExcel, Bayo Adefuye appealed to the teachers to be the star that will change the next generation for the better, adding that the governor is raising the standard of education to ensure that they become digital. “We want you to rewrite the Nigerian story. We want you to make our children great. You are the one we are trusting with this great task. Let our children be great by raising them as your own children,” he said.
A primary six teacher at Vetland Primary School, Mrs. Sarah Abiodun Oladipo, who spoke on behalf of the teachers, promised that no matter what comes her way in the state, she would ensure that every child in her custody becomes the best.
“We want to create a balance whether you attend a public or private school, you are still who God has created you to be. I can stand tall and say am a 21st century teacher,” she said, while commending the board for the initiative.
