Kaduna Trains 500 English Language Teachers

AT least 500 English language secondary schools teachers have been trained by the Kaduna State government as part of efforts to strengthen proficiency for the teaching of the subject...

This was disclosed by the deputy director of schools in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Malam Idris Aliyu, in an interview.

He said the training was part of the state government’s effort to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools.
Aliyu described improving teachers’ capacity as key to ensuring quality teaching and learning in schools, stressing that “teachers cannot give out what they do not have.”
He said the state needed quality teachers to be able to provide sound education to students and effectively prepare them for tertiary education, so that they can contribute to development in the future.
“Just two weeks ago, the government concluded the training for 60 technical teachers on practical skills, and yesterday, 500 English teachers concluded a week-long training on English proficiency.
“The cardinal principle of this administration is on education. This explains the ongoing massive infrastructure development and teachers’ capacity building in the education sector,” Aliyu said.
Also speaking, the executive chairman, Universal Basic Education Board, Malam Nasir Umar, said the state government would not relent in its efforts to ensure quality in the education system.
Umar said that training and retraining of teachers were the only way to equip teachers with modern techniques for effective teaching.
“We conducted series of trainings last year, and we are still training our teachers. I assure you that we will continue to train until all subjects are covered and every teacher is rebranded with new skills,” Umar said.
Also, Mrs Grace Caleb, a facilitator with the Teachers’ Development Programme, said that the training would strengthen the proficiency of the English teachers and improve their communication skills.
She described English as a crucial vehicle in teaching other subjects, adding that there would be better learning outcomes if all teachers were proficient in the language.
Habiba Mansur, one of the beneficiaries and an English language teacher with the Government Secondary School, Angwan Sarki, said she learnt a lot during the training.
“I have learnt how to better express myself, how to communicate with my students in class and how to better pass the message across,” she said.