World Bank Partners With Educators To Provide Digital Skills Training For Students

In order to better prepare instructors at the federal technical institutions around the nation with the 21st-century capabilities that will digitally transform the pupils, the Federal Government and the World Bank have partnered.

 

A workshop on the creation of a Structure for the in-service training of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) teachers and instructors was opened on Wednesday in Abuja by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Andrew Adejo, who was represented by the Director of Technology and Science Education, Mrs. Grace Jakko.

 

In order to expand the number of qualified and enthusiastic technical professors and instructors, he said that it is necessary to improve technical schools.

 

The workshop, according to Adejo, portrays a distinct economy and society, which has a significant impact on education in general and on the development of skills in technical and vocational education in particular.

 

He continued by saying that Nigeria’s skills development system must adjust to the new globalization trends in order for the country to remain economically viable, particularly in terms of our pertinent skills for both the official and informal sectors of the economy.

 

“All of the federal technical teachers in the 27 technical schools throughout the federation will be trained and captured in this component. Additionally, each of the five states taking part in the IDEAS Project has three technical colleges, and all of the teachers in these technical colleges will also be captured.

 

We expect a lot from the instructors, administrators, and project implementers, he said, adding, “I’m pretty sure of that.

 

The IDEAS Project’s national project coordinator, Blessing Ogwu, said that the initiative’s goal is to provide a complete framework for educating technical teachers in Nigeria.

 

In order to successfully educate technical instructors for the challenges of the future, Mrs. Ogwu expressed her faith in the participants’ aggregate knowledge and competence.

 

In order to fulfill market demand, she also revealed that they want to train 5000 individuals in technical skills. She also said that technical education is essential for determining how our society would develop in the future.

 

She said that “it’s crucial that we have professors who are well-trained and can successfully transfer technical information to our pupils.”

 

She said that it takes careful preparation, organization, and cooperation amongst several stakeholders and that creating an efficient training program for technical instructors is not a simple undertaking.

 

Dr. Mistura Rufai, a consultant for the World Bank, said that the whole cost of the IDEAS Project is around $200 million, and that one of its components, teacher training, would cost between $25 million and $30 million for Nigeria.

 

But, Dr. Rufai said that even if the teachers’ training has not yet begun, they want to set up some framework to guarantee that when it does, they begin the training this year.

 

The programme, which will include all six geographical zones and all the states in Nigeria, is for TVET teachers whether it is implemented in the state or not.

 

“One of the things we are going to draw on is the fact that 38 technical institutions around the nation already have workshops.

 

These schools will serve as teacher training facilities, and we’re also seeking to expand the capacity of tertiary institutions that presently educate teachers. We want to see how we can upskill and digitalize existing programs. There is also a goal to educate instructors at these tertiary institutions to become more proficient.

 

“We collaborate with the institution to make sure they have 21st-century, market-relevant equipment.”

 

According to the World Bank consultant, they wanted the instructors to get training that addressed the market’s needs for certain talents so that when the students graduated with those skills, they would be employable and able to meet those needs.

 

The goal of the global bank, according to workshop organizer Ben Akpan, is to allow the federal government to take over the project and continue it with the knowledge it has gained.