Concerned with the level of pupils enrolment and the menace of out-of-school children in public educational institutions, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Abuja, in partnership with Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has concluded plans to commence an intensive five-week training for school administrators and head teachers in the state.
According to the Executive Chairman of the Board, Rt. Hon. Victor Olabimtan, the programme, which is an integral component of Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA), is for Education Management Information System (EMIS) officers.
Other participants include Education Secretaries, Zonal and Area Education Officers and about 1,000 teachers drawn from schools across the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
Olabimtan said the training, being anchored by UBEC, Abuja under BESDA project, is designed to combat the growing menace of out-of-school children in the country, especially in the state.
According to a statement on Friday by the Board’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Mr. Bolu Ajijo, the Chairman underscored the need for participants, who he described as ‘lucky ones’, to take the training seriously because they are the bedrock for the success of the project in the state.
He said the programme is designed to train EMIS officers, Education Secretaries, Zonal and Areas Education Officers especially over 900 teachers drawn from schools across the state in the use of digital platform, a modern trend in Attendance Management Information System in the schools.
Olabimtan said that, apart from helping teachers to digitally mark class register at the end of the training, it would be possible from the Head Office of the Board in Akure to track and know the actual number of teachers and learners in each classroom and school at all time.
The Board Chairman, a trained teacher, who commended the Federal Government for initiating the programme, said that Ondo SUBEB has taken delivery of high-tech digital platform of over 1,000 tablets to be used in the training of the participants.
Elaborating on the project, the Director of Planning Research and Statistics Dr. Ayodele Akanle said the training has been divided into three modules.
The first tranche, which begins on Monday, 27th November and ends on Friday 1st December, is for EMIS officers drawn from the Ministry of Education, Ondo SUBEB and the 18 LGAs of the state.
According to him, the second tranche coming up from Monday 4th to Friday 8th December, would accommodate the training of Education Secretaries, Zonal and Areas Education Officers, while cluster training to be undertaken by the EMIS Officers that will cascade the training to the grassroots for three consecutive weeks would commence on Monday 11th December.
