Acting Chairperson, Edo SUBEB and Special Adviser to the Governor on Basic Education, Dr Joan Oviawe, disclosed this when executives of Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) called at her office, in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
The Edo-BEST is a basic education reform blueprint that prioritises deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in teaching, harmonises teaching and learning outcomes across locations and promotes an interactive classroom management model, among others.
The meeting was to get the buy-in of the leadership of the NUT and unveil how the reforms will revolutionise the basic education subsector in the state.
Dr. Oviawe said the scope of work for EDO- BEST will include governance and institutional development; teacher and curriculum development; community participation and partnership, and infrastructure and organisational development. She added that the reforms will be spread across the 18 Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs).
Dr. Oviawe emphasised that there was an urgent need to improve teacher quality and performance, increase numeracy and literacy levels, improve infrastructure as well as engender support system for school administration and management for increased efficiency.
She said the EDO-BEST programme will develop highly skilled teaching workforce, adding, “We have already selected those to be trained on how to use ICT tools such as tablets in the classrooms. This will help harmonise learning outcomes. The programme will also enhance the Edo State Basic Education Curriculum and restore public confidence in the quality of education offered in public schools.”
Assuring members of the NUT that the reforms are in the best interest of the state, she said, “Government is not out to witch hunt anyone, neither are there plans to sack anybody or close down schools as is being rumoured.
“The narrative in the last few years need to change. We should put a stop to the blame game and work together to give quality education to our children. The aim of these reforms is to develop a collaborative and support structure between teachers and government to improve the system” she said.
The SUBEB boss revealed that 300 head teachers will be selected to participate in a pilot scheme of Edo-BEST programme in 300 schools. “They will be trained to use tablets loaded with lesson notes and guides that help imbibe positive classroom management procedures to effectively drive learning outcomes,” she added.
Chairman, NUT Edo State Chapter, Comrade Pius Okhueleigbe, expressed appreciation to the acting chairman of SUBEB for her efforts to reform the sector.
He pledged the union’s continued support to government’s reforms to improve the state’s education sector.
Director, Bridge Policy and Partnership for Africa, Adesuwa Ifedi, said the place of technology in ensuring better outcomes in schools is incontrovertible, assuring that the Edo-BEST programme will solve some problems of inconsistency in teaching standards.
According to her, “every other sector is using technology, education must change, teachers must follow suit; teachers are nation builders. With the use of digital lesson plans, teachers can work with prepared lesson plan to ease their burden and give more time to supervise the children and manage their classrooms.”
