By Efe Onodjae 

Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, has flagged off the training of 18,000 primary and junior secondary school teachers across the 33 local government areas of the state.

This as he kick-started the distribution of instructional training materials and teaching aids to the teachers, stating that the Oyo State Government remained determined to be abreast of developments in the education sector and to meet universal standards.

Governor Makinde, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Barr. Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal, at the event held at the Emmanuel College, Agbowo, Ibadan, added that the programme was part of the government’s commitment to empowering and equipping the educators, who in turn would impart quality knowledge to pupils and students in primary and secondary schools.

The intervention programme was facilitated by Global Partnership in Education, sponsored by the World Bank in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC) and Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

Speaking further, the governor stated that the instructional training materials and the teaching aids would foster the capability of pupils and students to compete nationally and internationally and also equip the teachers with modern teaching tools in line with global educational standards by also adopting up-to-date teaching methods.

ýHe said: “We have come to demonstrate and make people aware that we are moving in tandem with educational development worldwide. We all know this is a digital age and we cannot afford to be analogue. So, we need to keep our teachers abreast of developments in their sector. 

“These computer tablets that are being distributed will further enhance the instructional capabilities of our teachers.

“The tablet is well-packaged with several Apps and it is meant for all our teachers in Oyo State; 18,000 in all.

“This training is going to last about two weeks so that no teacher would feign an excuse or pretend not to know how to operate the tablet.

“All subjects are included in the tablets. What you only need to do is to open the tab, go to the subject matter and begin to teach our students.

“It is indeed a teaching aid and would foster capability of our students to compete nationally and internationally because this mode of learning is not reversible. You can’t sit in the classrooms and be taught in analogue form when the age is digital.”

Speaking earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education Intervention, Chief Suraj Abiodun Tiamy, said apart from the distribution of the instructional training materials and teaching aids, there would be four weeks training for teachers in sixteen centres across the state.

He maintained that the exercise would be monitored to ensure that the schemes of work programmed in the teaching aids were in tandem with the curriculum.

In his remarks, Chairman, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Nureni Adeniran, said the distribution of the teaching aids would hasten teaching schemes and equally enable teachers to impart knowledge to the pupils and students in primary and junior secondary schools across all the local governments in the state.

Adeniran added that the educational intervention programme aimed at ensuring that Oyo State teachers are well-equipped in knowledge through digital learning, saying: 

“This programme is made possible as a result of the programme called Global Partnership in Education, which is being sponsored by the World Bank, in collaboration with UBEC and SUBEB, and it is aimed at ensuring that our teachers get the necessary skill in digital learning.”