We live in a world where technology has ushered in fundamental structural changes that can be integral to achieving significant improvements in productivity. The educational sector, more than ever, requires the application of technology in aiding teaching and learning outcomes. This is the passion behind Governor Godwin Obaseki’s tech drive for basic education and other educational levels in the State. The need to leverage technology for a better output and improved productivity in places of learning is non-negotiable for a 21st Century educational institution.
Education in Edo State has since witnessed a revolution since the advent of the Governor Godwin Obaseki administration who has leveraged technology to transform the education sector. Among such transformational drives include the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo BEST) initiative, which has improved pupils’ learning outcome through modern and tech-based teaching and learning process.
The need to improve teachers’ performance, increase numeracy and literacy skills, address the burning issues of inadequate infrastructures and the upgrade of school curriculum to meet modern day educational requirements and societal needs, among other educational necessities, set in motion series of events that have culminated in the transformation of the basic education sub-sector of the State.
The need to sustain these reforms necessitated the training and retraining of highly dedicated teachers, head teachers and education officers to administer the system. The Edo BEST initiative has so far seen to the training of over 11,000 teachers and head teachers in tech-based teaching techniques and modern pedagogy, and over four hundred and fifty (450) education officers. Just recently, the Edo BEST 2.0 programme was launched by Governor Godwin Obaseki in order to extend the gains of Edo BEST to higher levels of learning.
Edo State Government through the Edo State Universal Basic Education Board, on January 11th 2022, commenced the training of additional 632 teachers including the newly recruited Edo STAR (Supporting Teachers to Achieve Result) teachers, to equip them with modern instructional methods and groom them in Edo BEST pedagogy. The training exercise also captures Junior school teachers as part of the Edo BEST 2.0. The exercise would also see to the training of teachers not captured in the earlier training exercise, especially those from sparsely populated schools and riverine communities, to enable the even spread of Edo BEST to all primary schools in the State, both in rural and urban communities.
Through this Teacher Development Exercise, teachers would be better equipped with modern instructional methods and properly groomed in Edo BEST pedagogy. The exercise will also solve the problem of inadequate teachers in some schools as the newly recruited Edo STAR teachers currently undergoing training would be equipped with mobile teaching tablets and deployed to various schools in need of manpower, which in turn would aid teaching and learning outcomes immensely.
The Edo BEST initiative has aided teachers to elevate their approach in the classroom, giving pupils a more tailored experience that prepares them for the future.
