From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
No fewer than 148 Nigerian teachers are being trained by the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, on Academic Leadership and Digital Literacy, funded by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Prof. Musa Garba Maitafsir, the Director and Chief Executive of NTI, Kaduna, in an address delivered to mark the commencement of the training workshop across the six geo-political zones, Monday, March 13, said the success or effectiveness of any school system depends to a larger extend on its leadership.
‘’ The main objectives of this capacity building workshop are to help the school heads in Nigeria to enhance their leadership capacities and apply the knowledge productivity to improve educational outcomes in their schools,’’ he said.
He said the workshop is designed to enhanced monitoring, coaching skills of schools for effective administration and capacity of the school heads to use relevant communication tools to support school administration and build skills of school administrators for effective service delivery.
According to Prof. Maitafsir, other objectives are, to strengthen the capacity of the school managers in community engagement for effective school management and education delivery, guide, counsel skills of school heads for enhanced delivery of counseling services in schools.
In the aspect of Digital literacy, the Director and Chief Executive of the Institute said digital literacy is concerned with the development of teachers’ capacity to know when and how to use digital technology to access, process, evaluate, create and communicate information through writing and other media on various digital platforms.
‘’ It is one of the numerous benefits of the 21st century breakthrough in Information and Communication Technology(ICT) that led to the increased use of technological devices like computers, mobile phones, televisions and DVDs as well as the internet to create , manage and distribute information,’’ he said.
Prof. Maitafsir said that the advancement in technology has led to the era, where learning through the internet become possible. He said further that primary education system in Nigeria is the foundation on which other levels of education are built.
‘’ To achieve its aims of equipping pupils for further studies and adequately groom them to function effectively in a continuously growing and fast paced – digital driven world,’’ he said.
He therefore called on the relevant stakeholders in education to incorporate the basic elements of digital literacy in primary school curriculum and implemented, accordingly.
He decried that despite the enormous potentials of ICTs and digital literacy in our educational institutions in Nigeria, particularly at the primary level, are yet to take advantages of its numerous benefits.
Prof. Maitafsir said the Institute will continue to partner with the relevant stakeholders to provide Nigerian teachers with necessary skills needed to improve their job and profession inline with the current trends in teaching and learning.
The workshop training, which is among the training components flagged-off by the Honourable Minister of State for Education, Rt. Hon. Goodluck Nanah Opiah on September 8, 2022, in Abuja, is scheduled between Monday, March 13 and Wednesday, March 15 , in six centres nationwide as follows: Nasarawa state (North Central), Kaduna state (North West), Adamawa state (North East), Oyo state (South West), Delta state (South South) and Ebonyi state (South East).
