Kogi SUBEB, NGO to train teachers

Our Reporter

The Kogi State Universal Basic Education Board (KSUBEB) is partnering United Kingdom (UK) not-for-profit, Universal Learning Solutions, to eradicate illiteracy in public primary schools through teacher training.

The partnership has enabled the training of about 980 primary 1 teachers from all Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state in the use of Jolly Phonics, an interactive teaching tool that uses the synthetic phonics literacy teaching methodology

This training was facilitated with funding provided by Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) under the 2016 Teachers Professional Development Programme (TPD).

Another 750 Primary 2 teachers and 21 officials have also received further Jolly Phonics training to help sustain the implementation of the programme. The training held in Lokoja, Kabba, Ayingba, Nagazi, and Idah penultimate week.

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Dr Louise Gittins, Projects Director at Universal Learning Solutions, thanked the Executive Chairman of Kogi SUBEB, Alhaji Abdullahi Ndalayi, for his continued support and commitment to the project, noting that the chairman’s motto; “If there is  anything we should achieve, it should be that every pupil in our public primary schools is able to read and write in English before leaving primary school,” is very apt.

Chief Executive Officer of Universal Learning Solutions, Mr Gary Foxcroft, praised UBEC for recognising the veracity of Jolly Phonics and adopting it in government schools across Nigeria.

“UBEC has really recognised the tremendous impact that Jolly Phonics has been having on literacy levels in Nigeria’s government schools and has taken it on as one of their flagship programmes”.

He also congratulated the new teachers benefiting from the training and urged them to ensure that they teach the pupils consistently, using the skills gained from the training.

Jolly Learning Limited, publishers of Jolly Phonics through Universal Learning Solutions, donated pupils and teachers’ resources worth over N110m to Kogi SUBEB before the commencement of the project in Kogi State in 2017.