FG Targets 500 Teacher Educators With Safe-school, Digital Skills Training
By Alice Etuka, Abuja
The Federal Government has commenced a capacity-building programme targeting about 500 teacher educators with skills in safe learning environments, gender-responsive pedagogy and digital teaching.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at the National Trainers’ Workshop on Safe Learning Environment, Gender-Responsive Technology and ICT Skills for Educators in Teacher Training Institutions in Nigeria.
The initiative, which began with the training of 45 master trainers from 15 teacher training colleges, is aimed at strengthening the capacity of educators to create safer, more inclusive and technology-enabled learning environments across Nigeria.
Ahmad, who was represented by the Director, College of Education in the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr Uchenna Uba, said the master trainers would cascade the knowledge gained from the workshop to about 500 teacher educators.
She said the training was particularly important in equipping teachers to identify and address bullying, abuse, exclusion and other factors that could prevent learners from fully participating in education.
According to her, physical attendance should no longer be regarded as proof that a child was benefiting from education, as some learners could remain in classrooms while gradually disengaging from learning.
“A girl does not always leave school on a day her name disappears from the register. Sometimes she leaves a little early while she is still sitting in the classroom,” Ahmad said.
She said teachers must be able to recognise bullying, respond appropriately to reports of abuse and create environments where children feel safe enough to seek help.
“Success, however, will be decided in schools and classrooms by whether a teacher recognises bullying, whether a child knows how to seek help, and whether the adults responsible respond with care and consistency,” she said.
The minister said the Federal Ministry of Education had introduced the National Policy on Anti-Bullying in Nigerian Schools and its implementation guidelines, but stressed that the effectiveness of such policies depended largely on teachers’ ability to implement them.
“We cannot simply hand her a policy and expect every difficulty to disappear. We must prepare her to put it in practice. That is the promise of this workshop,” she said.
Ahmad also cited UNICEF data indicating that 74 per cent of children aged seven to 14 lacked basic reading and mathematics skills in 2024.
She said the figure highlighted the urgent need for the education system to focus not only on enrolment but also on ensuring that children were safe, included and learning effectively.
The minister noted that teachers themselves often worked under difficult conditions, including overcrowded classrooms, inadequate teaching materials and heavy workloads.
She therefore stressed that education policies must be accompanied by practical training and appropriate resources to enable teachers to implement them effectively.
As part of the initiative, the government of Japan, through UNESCO, has supported the 15 beneficiary colleges with ICT equipment.
Ahmad described the support as an investment in institutions responsible for preparing Nigeria’s future teachers, while challenging the beneficiaries to ensure that the equipment was translated into practical improvements in teaching and learning.
She urged the 45 master trainers to replicate the training in their respective institutions, provide opportunities for colleagues to practise the new approaches and monitor their impact on student teachers and pupils.
In his goodwill message, the Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba, Dr James Olisa, who spoke on behalf of the Committee of Provosts, described the intervention as timely.
Olisa said equipping teacher-training institutions with relevant skills and technology was essential to preparing educators for the realities of modern classrooms.
He, however, stressed that the success of the initiative would depend on the effective utilisation of the skills and equipment provided to beneficiary institutions.
Also speaking, the Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Japan in Nigeria, Kozaki Hitoshi, reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to supporting education development in Nigeria.
Kozaki said Japan’s partnership with Nigeria was based on collaboration and local ownership, stressing that the value of the intervention would ultimately be measured by how beneficiary institutions deployed the equipment to improve teacher preparation and expand learning opportunities.
The Japanese diplomat said the country’s support was intended to complement the efforts of African governments and institutions rather than impose external solutions.
