THESHIELD Garkuwa
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The Honourable Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu said the Federal Ministry of Education will continue to support teacher education and the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna in line with policies that will help bring teacher development and its
sustainability in the country.
The Minister made the disclosure on Tuesday, November 21, while declaring open the First Annual National Conference 2023 organised NTI at the Institute’s headquarters in Kaduna.
Dr. Tanko, who was represented by the Special Assistant (Projects) to the Minister of State for Education, Rufai Sani Adamu, said the federal government is focused on restoring quality of education, particularly teacher education and continuous development of teachers.
He therefore commended the effort of NTI under Prof. Musa Garba Maitafsir for organising the conference. Speaking earlier in his welcome address, the Director and Chief Executive of the National Teachers’ Institute, Kaduna, Prof. Musa Garba Maitafsir said the Institute in the last two years has been transformed to a full-fledged academic Institute.
‘’ Our focus now is on e-facilitation as we have now embarked on the training of the Institute’s staff to be e-facilitators,’’ he said. Prof. Maitafsir said his administration is determined to change the narrative of what is now obtained in the sector.
While clarifying on the issue of the proposed Internship Programme by the Institute, Prof. Maitafsir disclosed that the Internship document, which was well written, with concept note, has an entrepreneurship component, aimed to make the intern self-reliant.
The NTI Director and Chief Executive, who prayed for the success of the programme, said the Institute has gone far on the Internship Programme, which is to be in collaboration with the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
On the sustainability of the internship, Prof. Musa Garba Maitafsir said a structure was already developed on how it would be sustained.
Meanwhile, he tasked stakeholders on teacher motivation, so as to drive the profession and support the teachers in Nigeria.
The keynote speaker at the conference, Prof. Josiah Olusegun Ajiboye , Registrar and Chief Executive of Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria, while speaking on the internship programme, said government should approve and sponsor the internship programme the same way it does with Law School and Medical students in the country.
In his goodwill message, the representative of the Acting Executive Secretary NUC, Prof. Muhammad Yahya, having described the conference as a significant event, said education is a dynamic and evolving field with the role of teachers sounding prominently in the process.
‘’In an era of rapid technological advancement and globalization, educators must be equippedwith the tools and knowledge needed to prepare students for the demands of this century,’’ he said.
Prof. Yahya said the approach to education must be adaptive, innovative and forward-thinking.
‘’ It is encouraging to witness the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) Kaduna takes a leadership role in driving this conversation that deepens our common interests and commitment to advancing the teaching profession and consequently, the quality of education in Nigeria,’’ he added.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the conference, which observed that there are
disparities in training, resource allocation and application of effectiveteachingstrategies by teachers in Nigeria and need to leverage modern technology in educational delivery at all levels as well as need for teacher internship programme, so as to bridge the gap between theoretical
knowledge and practical application by providing interns with a carefully mentored experience,
having considered the benefits of the internship programme, has identified the University-based programmes, school-based programmes and hybrid models as the most suitable internship models for the Nigerian education internship programme.
The conference recommended ‘’ There should be upward review of federal budgetary allocation for education; this will help to improve infrastructure, delivery and general educational quality.
‘’ There should be improvement in remuneration of all teachers in line with the current economic realities of the country.
‘’There should be a wider Sensitization/Advocacy on the proposed teacher internship programme.’’
Major activity at the conference was the presentation of papers by the keynote speaker, Prof. Josiah Olusegun Ajiboye , titled ‘’ Teacher Internship Programme: A Panacea for Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice in Teaching Profession,’’ and Lead speakers, Prof. Oladele Akogun, Prof. Abubakar A. Bagudo of the Usumanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and Prof. Salisu Shehu, Vice Chancellor, Al-Istigamah University, Sumaila, Kano State.
The stakeholders at the conference with the theme ‘’ Redirecting the focus of Education Stakeholders Toward Modern Processes of Producing Competent, Dedicated and Professional
Teachers in Nigeria, ‘’ with participants from Federal l Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission, National Commission for Colleges of Education, Universal Basic Education Commission and Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria and National Commission
for Nomadic Education, as well as National Board for Technical Education and National Mathematical Centre, State Ministries of Education, State Universal Basic Education Boards,
Nigeria Union of Teachers, All Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools and Security Organisations have called on the federal government to approve a mandatory internship
programme for pre-service teachers in Nigeria and NTI should be given the mandate for the one -year internship programme.
