By Praise Chinecherem
A total of 1,500 teachers in Anambra State are set for a one-week intensive training targeted at upscaling their knowledge ahead of the 2023/24 new academic year.
Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh who dropped the hint in a chat with newsmen in her office, said erudite scholars drawn from institutions across the country would be drilling the teachers on basic classroom rudiments.
She said training, tagged, “Solution Holiday boot camp”, the first of its kind in the state would be a continuous exercise and would cover all the 500,000 teachers recently recruited by Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
She said, “It’s not all about employing the teachers. When it comes to knowledge, moribund knowledge is almost a disease. It needs regular upscaling.
“That’s why Aristotle said best life is that lived in acquisition of knowledge and knowledge starts from birth to death. So you keep learning.
“Mr. Governor Chukwuma Soludo, after recruiting 5,000 teachers at a swipe, and is promising to recruit more.
“Our duty here is to ensure there’s a grandiose improvement on the quality of teachers and the quality of their teaching. That’s why we’ve initiated the first Solution Holiday Boot Camp for teachers.
“This entails the teachers getting back to classroom for one week. We’re not just going to upscale their knowledge, but get them equipped the more for holistic impartation of knowledge.
“We have marshalled out a lot in our scheme. Basically, we’re going to look at Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, General English Studies, both for Science and Arts teachers, basic classroom rudiments, assessments, among others.
“We’ll be having erudite professors and lecturers of education from notable institutions across the country, including Umaru Musa University, Katsina and University of Ibadan to ground them on what it takes to be a sound teacher.
“Altogether, we’re expecting 13 facilitators to train no fewer than 1,500 teachers for the exercise. The teachers are drawn from ICT, Science, Arts and some primary schools.
“It’s going to be a continuous process for all teachers in the state. In the next batch, we’ll train another set of 1,500 teachers until all of them are properly equipped.
According to Chuma-Udeh, the opening ceremony, slated for September 6, would be graced by notable writers and educationists, including Vice Chancellor, Ajman Pategi University, Prof. Mafouz Adedimeji who is expected to deliver keynote address as well as Enugu State Attorney General who would handle the lead paper.
She advised the teachers to take advantage of the opportunity to improve themselves and teaching skills, stressing that, “when teachers stop learning, the nation stops growing.”
