No fewer than 8,000 teachers in Abia State would undergo training to enhance their capacity for more efficient service delivery.
This is as Governor Alex Otti, has launched the Abia Fostering Innovation Reform School Transformation (AbiaFIRST), with a vow to revolutionalise the entire education sector for global competitiveness.
Launching the programme Wednesday at the International Conference Centre, ICC, Umuahia, Gov. Otti said the initiative was
aimed at providing quality education for students in every school in the state.
According to Otti, the initiative will also trigger rapid socioeconomic development of the state as schools in the state will no longer produce job seekers but impact makers.
“This is a strategic initiatives aimed at transforming the education sector in the state through sustained investments in education”, Otti said.
The Governor vowed to lead the change in the qualitative education delivery, assuring that the state government will no longer take the back seat but lead from the front.
He said:”Abia State Government has re-taken the initiative to lead the change in qualitative education of our young people through our multi-level learning institutions.
“Never again will the government play second fiddle with the education sector as we shall lead from the front in terms of investments in infrastructure, recruitment of the best to teach and educate our children and personnel renumeration”.
Otti commended the state Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education in driving his vision in the education sector, adding that education is at the centre of his development agenda.
Promising to spare nothing at promoting education, Otti said:”Abia Government shall spare nothing to prepare the Abia child for the emerging new age.”
“Investing in education as we have learnt from the development strides of other nations is no longer optional but a consistently general outlay has become a prerequisite for the achievement of the aspirations of any society,” Otti thundered.
Speaking earlier, Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education Elder Goodluck Ubochi explained that “AbiaFIRST is not just about improving individual schools but a complete institutional reform that will transform education in Abia State”.
He disclosed that the key to the transformation in education is the innovative solutions the government is introducing which
He identified key components of the initiative as digital learning platforms, wholesome curriculum framework , teacher professional development, technical and vocational education, monitoring and evaluation system, and Science Technical Engineering Art and Mathematics (STEAM).
The Commissioner had during a press conference earlier, explained that 8000 teachers were being targeted for re-training for greater impacts.
“So far, 218 master trainers and 2,000 master teachers have been trained to lead the new learning model, which will eventually reach all 8,000 teachers across the state,” Ubochi explained.
He, therefore, solicited the cooperation of all stakeholders in the education sector for the success of the programme, which according to him, will put Abia ahead of other states.
In her remarks, the Team Lead of the Education Reform and Innovation Team (ERIT), Mrs. Abolaji Osimen, noted that the ERIT team , which consists of 180 professionals specializing in areas such as Educational Technology and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been engaging with the present administration since 2023.
She said that their goal was to foster digital proficiency among young learners and to collaboratively address the challenges facing Nigeria’s education sector.
Osimen lauded Governor Otti for his commitment to transforming the education sector.
In their goodwill messages, development partners, including UNESCO representative Mr Adeyemi Oladeji; World Bank Senior Education Specialist Dr Tunde Adekola, and a representative of the British Council Office in Abuja, Mr Daniel Fwanshishak, all commended Otti for his genuine efforts to transform the Abia education sector.
The pledged their assistance to the state through capacity building and technical supports.
The event was massively attended by teachers from across the state.