The US Embassy Abuja and the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) have commended the 2020 Global Teacher Award Finalist and an English teacher at Government Day Secondary School, Abuja, Mr Olasunkanmi Opeifa, for his strong contribution towards the teaching profession and quality education in the country.
They said the effort would certainly rub off on the education sector and the country’s economy by extension, be it now or in the near future.
The two institutions gave the commendation separately at the national teachers’ conference and graduation ceremony of 260 teachers, who are the first set of teachers to be trained under the “Phenomenon-Edu Impact Project” put together by Opeifa for interested primary and secondary school teachers and other educators nationwide.
Speaking at the event held in Abuja, US Embassy’s Cultural Affairs Officer, Julia McKay, said the embassy is never in doubt of Opeifa’s ingenuity and passion for quality education, hence his intervention to raise many more quality teachers in the country.
She congratulated the graduating set of the training project, noting that their dedication and commitment to honing their knowledge and skills in line with the 21st-century classroom would surely reflect in their service delivery and other lawful engagements.
She urged them not to stop learning even as teachers.
In his own remark, Registrar and Chief Executive of TRCN, Professor Josiah Ajiboye, who was represented by Mrs Abah Mary, of the Department of Research and Planning of the agency, emphasised the importance of teachers developing themselves in knowledge and skills that would make them perform optimally at work and in other endeavours.
While promising that TRCN would continue to lend its support to Opeifa in his various projects towards teachers and education development, Ajiboye explained that the agency on its part, would not relent in sanitising the teaching profession in the country.
According to him, quacks have no business in the classroom.
“So, TRCN will continue to regulate the teaching profession and maintain professional standards and also promote the growth and development of educators in the country generally,” he assured.
In his keynote address at the event, CEO of 1 Million Teachers, a non-governmental organisation, which is biased in teachers’ capacity development, Mr Hakeem Subair, observed the need to bridge the gap of paucity of quality teachers in the country.
He said it is worrisome that the ratio of teachers to students in the country is huge and more worrisome that the population of out-of-school children which he put at 20 million, is frightful
He said the country would need to do something fast in these regards, thus his organisation partnering Phenomenon-Edu Impact.
In his welcome address earlier, the convener and initiator of the “Phenomenon-Edu Impact,” Mr Olasunkanmi Opeifa, who is also the 2018 Maltina Teacher of the Year Award Winner, explained that the essence of the scheme is to develop many more successful teachers in the country.
According to him, the training is free of charge to participants who may be teachers, school administrators or school owners from across the federation.
He noted that participants are taking through 10 courses in all and designed to cover five months with them having the opportunity to schedule their training period as convenience.
He said the platform particularly the conference also creates opportunities for participants to exchange ideas, share experiences, and also network and collaborate among themselves.
He said the effort is to equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills that would make them effectively prepare their students for the challenges of the future.
One of the participants, Patience Matejuojo, from Redeemer’s Private Secondary School, Abuja, expressed appreciation to Opeifa for putting up the training.
She said she is optimistic that with her new knowledge, she would do better in class and in her other engagements.
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