UBEC recently meets with training institutions, to improve mechanisms for capacity building of UBE teachers, UJI ABDULLAHI ILIYASU reports.
Cluster Schools Model
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and selected training institutions that are implementing the Cluster Schools Model (CSM) of the capacity building of teachers and managers have pledged their commitment to improved teacher development processes in the basic education sub-sector.
This was the consensus of the 2-day meeting hosted by UBEC for representatives of training institutions/colleges of education selected by State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) and saddled with the responsibility of conducting the cluster model of teacher professional development in basic education institutions.
Significance of Cluster Schools Models
Universal Basic Education Commission’s (UBEC) director of academic services, Malam Wadatau Madawaki informed participants and representatives of the various training institutions of the significance of the Cluster Schools Model (CSM) training in enhancing the capacity of basic education teachers and managers.
Mallam Madawaki also used the opportunity offered by the meeting to stress on the role of teacher training colleges in conducting pre-service and in-service training of teachers as well as new initiatives in strengthening the effectiveness of the cluster model of teacher capacity development.
Efforts to train teachers
Addressing participants at the opening ceremony of the 2-day meeting, UBEC executive eecretary who was represented by the director, UBEC North-west zonal office, Alhaji Badamasi Musa, recalled the outstanding efforts of training institutions in conducting the training for teachers in previous years using the UBEC Teacher Professional Development (TPD) fund. The Executive Secretary noted that the training institutions by reason of the roles they play hold a major stake in providing quality basic education in the country. He expressed optimism that the various institutions selected on merit by the 36 SUBEBs and FCT UBEB for the next phase of the training, under the 2016 Teacher Professional Development activities, will deliver on their mandates and urged them to make the best use of the opportunity offered by the meeting to identify the priority training methods that will add value and enhance the attainment of the UBEC TPD activities.
Reviewing cluster training approach
In the course of the meeting, participants were informed that UBEC, in partnership with other development partners, has reviewed the cluster school training approach to include effective monitoring, follow-up and mentorship of participating teachers, assessment methods and tools that will ensure accurate data collection for improved and informed decision making on the implementation of the Cluster School Model in all states.
The 2-day meeting featured paper presentations, deliberations on the reviewed cluster model implementation guides as well as question and answer sessions. The meeting which held at Bafra Hotel, Kaduna was attended by representatives of the training institutions from all the states and ended Friday, April 27, 2019.
UBEC and development partners
UBEC’s renewed effort and partnership with international development partners in this direction is expected to enrich teacher capacity building interventions and usher in improved classroom delivery processes in basic education delivery institutions in the country.
Communit-based school programme
Before now UBEC had taken a bold step in facilitating result-oriented advocacy, sensitisation and mobilisation of grassroots actors for improved school development.
Being fully aware of the fact that the overall success of basic education in Nigeria depends largely on the level of community awareness, participation and support to the programme, UBEC is instituting a new intervention for school development whereby basic education stakeholders, especially those at the school level will play a more decisive role in initiating and executing projects that have direct bearing on the improvement of access, quality and equity in basic education delivery in their domains.
The School Based Management Committee- School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP) focuses on the implementation of priority school level projects through indigenous community-initiated self-help projects anchored, implemented, maintained and sustained by community members, but with financial and technical support from UBEC.
In view of the need to ensure that school level actors who will be part of the SBMC-SIP process and who will manage the huge resources earmarked for the programme are adequately prepared and provided the necessary skills, UBEC has organised a 5-day training for master trainers who will in turn train school level officials and organs implementing the SBMC-SIP.
UBEC’s executive secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, represented by UBEC director of social mobilisation, Alhaji Bello Kagara, while declaring the 5-day training open, urged participants to demonstrate strong commitment by devoting themselves to the training in order to derive optimum benefit from it. He further noted that since SBMCs have been globally recognised as school development agents, UBEC intends to create an enabling environment for their active involvement in the SIP towards reinvigorating community support for school development initiatives; promoting community participation, complementing government efforts in the management of schools and also serving as catalysts for community ownership of basic education delivery services.
Master training workshop
The master training workshop which is one of the pre-SBMC-SIP take-off activities is seen as key to the success of the programme. During the training, participants were imparted with skills on mobilising community organs especially SBMCs in identifying school level needs-based priority projects, guiding project implementation, monitoring and supervision of approved projects in line with the standards specified in the SIP implementation manual.
In view of this and in line with its resolve to provide the necessary framework for this intervention to succeed, UBEC has also developed a comprehensive social mobilisation handbook to support the SBMC-SIP.
New initiatives
UBEC anticipates that the new initiative which emphasises effective engagement with various school level partners will further promote basic education delivery and ownership in the country. One hundred and thirty seven (137) trainees drawn from UBEC and SUBEBS are involved in the 5-day exercise. The participants so trained were required to replicate the training for SBMCs at state and local government education authority levels and where necessary, Community Based Organisations (CBOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
The training which commenced Monday, March 18, 2019, was held at Idrinana Hotel, Lokongoma, Phase 2, Lokoja, Kogi state, and rounded off Friday, March 22.
Resource persons for the training were drawn from UNICEF, the academia, education and civil society organisations.
