Teachers in primary schools under the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation Programme (EdoBEST) have hailed the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration for prioritizing continuous training and quality assurance programmes emplaced to sustain standards across government schools in the state.
A cross-section of the teachers, who spoke with journalists, describe the new development in the schools, which are part of the EdoBEST package, as life-changing, noting that the programmes have restored the dignity of the teaching profession across government schools in the state.
Mrs Oyarebu Sarat Oyamhem, a classroom teacher at Akpekpe Model Primary School in Etsako West LGA, said the continuous training and quality assurance programmes have restored professionalism and quality to the teaching profession in the state.
According to her, “Over the years, teachers’ professional growth and personal well-being was neglected. For the past 30 years, I only received 2 professional teachers’ training. But when EdoBEST came, the first thing they did was to train me rigorously for 2 weeks in Benin City. As though that was not enough, they sent learning and development officers to my school weekly, to coach, mentor and support me.”
Mrs Oyamhem noted that the new teaching methods and technology introduced has improved her skill sets and boosted her confidence as a teacher.
On her part, Omorovie Faith, a Primary 6 teacher at Akho Primary School in Irrua, Esan Central LGA also expressed appreciation to the Edo State Government for the Teacher Professional Development Initiative.
She said, “The training programme has enabled me to become more technologically-savvy, and recently, I was awarded the Best Online Teacher in Esan Central LGA.”
A learning and development Officer with the Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (Edo SUBEB), Gloria Ekore said the transformation in teachers has been phenomenal, as they have become more productive and excited to teach.
“I am very happy to have the privilege of supporting 104 teachers across 13 schools in Owan East LGA.”
She noted that following the coronavirus pandemic, she has been proactive in encouraging all her teachers to join the Virtual Learning Classroom through the Whatsapp Application on their smartphones.
The Virtual Learning Classroom is manned by teachers and created for each class in each of the 847 EdoBEST Schools, to provide pupils with access to daily lesson guides and self-study activity packets.
“So far, 7204 (85%) of Virtual Learning Classrooms have been created. I have been able to train and guide 90 of the teachers into activating their respective groups, in view to ensure that their pupils are learning while at home,” she said.
