UNICEF begins training of Abia teachers on digital learning tools

According to UNICEF, 500 teachers are targeted in the first phase of the project which began with 100 teachers in Ohafia Local Government Area.

Addressing the trainees during a two-day workshop at Enuda Primary School Abiriba, Ohafia LGA, Education Specialist, UNICEF Enugu Field Office, Dr Agatha Nzeribe, said the aim of the training was to expose teachers to the Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) – a digital platform developed to mitigate the challenge of insufficient instructional materials.

She explained that NLP enables teachers to gain free online access to relevant materials needed to effectively impart knowledge.

“Teachers and students using the platform can have access to developed lesson notes on different topics”, she said, adding that NLP came into focus during the COVID-19 era.

She further explained that the training was aimed at teaching teachers to adopt a blended learning approach that would help scale up their abilities for better results.

The UNICEF Education Specialist further said that the training was part of efforts to prepare Abia teachers and other education stakeholders ahead of the  Global Partnership for Education GPE System Transformation Grant, STG, fund disbursement recently approved for the state.

She disclosed that $7 million US Dollars had been approved for the state, adding that capacity has to be built for teachers before the up-take of the largesse.

GPE is a World Bank-hosted multi-stakeholder partnership that aims to strengthen global education.

The UNICEF Education Specialist who disclosed that the current training was bankrolled by “IHS Towers”, said more teachers in other LGAs would also benefit from the project.

“This is UNICEF support for Abia and we got it from IHS Towers  for the implementation of NLP activities “, she said.

One of the facilitators and UNICEF Desk Officer, Enugu SUBEB, Mr Benjamin Ugwuanyi, said the need for digital competence among teachers in a technology-driven society, necessitated the workshop.

He said:” There has been a paradigm shift in the way we teach in our classrooms. We are in a technology-driven era, and we have to carry teachers along.

“This is a digital learning platform for pupils in the classroom, for teachers that teach them, and even for parents and anybody who wishes to learn new things using the platform”.