Seven hundred and fifty Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers, 20 Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs), and 80 Education Officers in Ogun State, have been trained on the New Method of Teaching, to further promote efficiency and sustain an enviable education legacy that the state is known for.
Speaking during the opening ceremony of a three-week training, organised by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology in conjunction with Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP), the Special Adviser to the Governor in the Ministry, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu said the training, which was the second phase of the exercise held in December 2022, was also to improve teaching and learning activities, develop teachers’ capacity, and encourage world standards educational systems.
Prof. Arigbabu noted that the training was part of the efforts of the present administration’s strides to sustain the legacies of the founding fathers of the education sector in the state, saying the huge investment of government in the sector is yielding faster results to the extent that other states and some institutes are making contacts with the ministry to learn from its success stories.
The Special Adviser stated that the new innovations introduced into science teaching have provoked the interest of learners in science subjects such as chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics thereby becoming the best, citing the example of a student, Gbolahan Azeem of African Church Grammar School, Abeokuta who was the best JAMB candidate in Ogun State and 4th best across the federation.
He said: “We are working tirelessly to introduce more innovations that will bring desired changes into the education sector in Ogun State.”
In his opening remarks, the Project Manager, OGSTEP, Fatai Osunsanya said there is a need to intimate class teachers and other education stakeholders in the state on new ways of imparting knowledge through technology, so as to make the learners relevant and compete favourably with their colleagues in other countries of the world.
Underscoring the importance of the programme, the training, the coordinator, Dr Olushola Odusanya lauded the government for the initiative aimed at upgrading the skills and techniques of teachers to the newly acceptable learning standards, noting that Ogun State is the only place in the world, where science teachers are trained continuously and consistently on their specifications.
Appreciating the government for the capacity-building event, Oladipo Oladapo and Mrs Adijat Tijani said since the introduction of the programme last December, their teaching skills, knowledge, and experience have improved, promising to cascade the training to others in their schools and zones.