By Olasunkanmi Akoni

The Anwar-ul-Islam Old Students Association, ACAOSA, Global has stressed the need for regular training, better remuneration and incentives for teachers in enhancing professionalism, and better Nigeria’s future.

President-General of ACAOSA Global, Dr Abdulfatai Afolabi, made the call at a One-Day Capacity Building for 50 teachers drawn from Anwar-ul-Islam College, (Formerly Ahmadiyya College) Agege and Anwar-ul-Islam Girls’ High School, Ojokoro, at the college in Agege, Lagos.

The training, entitled: “Transforming Teaching with AI: Digital Integration for Smarter Classrooms and Professional Excellence, was facilitated by professional firms.

Afolabi, said that the decision to embark on initiative was informed by the direct performance of students and grades in final examinations.

The president, who graduated from the school in 1975, noted the old students had discovered a decrease in school enrollment, hence, the need to beef up and enhance teachers’ capacity to raise standards and attract more students.

“The enrollment will be informed by the record of performances of our students. If, delightedly, our schools publish results of the school scoring 90 success in the external examinations, then enrollment would begin to rise.

“We need to do this because we know doing that will also mean sustaining the life of our old students’ association,” Afolabi, the said.

Stressing the importance of teachers’ training and remuneration, he said that teachers deserved more than what they were getting in Nigeria.

Afolabi added: “It (poor reward system) has been an age-long phenomenon that teachers are not commensurately or adequately well rewarded.

“It has been an age-long phenomenon that teachers’ rewards are in heaven. I think we need to change that axiom now such that everyone should be able to receive their rewards here.

“That is why we are doing this training to motivate the teachers to let them know that they are also important in the lives of the students.

“We also want to showcase ourselves to them as old students for them to see that we are the makings of teachers then, and we can look back.”

According to him, teachers are important and except they are motivated performances of the students will continue go down.

Noting that the outcome of the training evaluation would determine the frequency, Afolabi assured ACAOSA’s readiness to constantly impact students and teachers of schools under the Anwar-ul-Islam Movement.

Another facilitator, Mrs Oyinkan Afolabi, who spoke on Classroom Management, who noted the need for teachers to create and maintain a safe, organised and productive learning environment, called for creation of positive classroom culture.

Speaking on Digital Integration in Teaching and The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Dr Joy Isa, said that technology keeps evolving but academia were lacking behind and at the bottom of the ladders, tasking teachers on critical thinking, creativity and innovation.

Speaking, Mr Abdulwaheed Soyebo, the Principal, Anwar-ul-Islam College Agege, told NAN, who applauded ACAOSA for being sensitive to teacher’s training, describing it as impactful and eye-opener on how to handle different categories of students.

Other sessions including Digital Integration in Teaching and The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Instructional Strategies among others.