Education is described as the bedrock for national development, and there is often the expectation that all Nigerians be given the opportunity and right to be educated in order to reach their full potential in life. Unfortunately, the government has over the years been unable to carry the burden of offering Nigerians quality education alone, hence the need for corporate organisations to come in.
One of these has been Seplat Energy, which has shown readiness to continue to validate its commitment to quality education through the Seplat Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP) programmes for schools and teachers.
The atmosphere was electric as Esther Osasehin, a mathematics teacher at Ihuogbe College in Benin, Edo State capital, and a former beneficiary of STEP got fresh rewards.
Esther Osasehin and her team displayed 10,000mAh, 15,000mAh and 20,000mAh capacity power- banks built from electronic waste and fully functional.
According to Osasehin, the knowledge she and her team received from the STEP training motivated them to challenge themselves to drive a project that will be beneficial to their community and reduce electronic waste from the environment.
“We have plans to fight the scourge of plastic waste in our environment through recycling in our next project. We plan to recycle plastic and build shock- resistant covers for their power-banks,” Osasehin said.
This was one of the many testimonials received from past beneficiaries of the STEP programme at the 2023 edition of the Seplat JV Education Summit and Roundtable, where 271 beneficiaries received their certificate of participation.
The theme of this year’s summit was ‘Transforming the Education Workforce’ and in a roundtable after the summit, a breakout session was held, where the theme was further drilled down to analyze the issue in our education system and seek for ways to mitigate them, using technology as a tool.
It was also a forum to formally launch the Seplat Innovators Programme, forming the third leg of a tripartite process wherein trained teachers will also be provided with the right resources to help unleash their creative sides, expose them to wider information around the globe and have a fully equipped science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) laboratory, for coming up with solutions to impact their students in such a way that they too become innovators.
The programme was aimed to aid people to benefit from what technology has to offer in terms of advancement in knowledge and growth with a global approach to education that will shape the thinking and behaviour of secondary school children, regardless of economic background and/or the communities they belong to.
Mories Atoki, CEO of ABC Health in setting the tone for the roundtable highlighted the advancement in technology and how it can transform the workforce and personnel who deal with young minds.
She stressed the vision of Seplat and how the results of the programme have been astounding.
Birgitta Eno Okodugha, the Edo State’s permanent secretary for Information, Communication and Technology claimed that Edo State had advanced tremendously in its education goals coupled with the introduction of the EdoBest 2.0 programme, which she alleged to have recorded an 80 percent success.
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She applauded the STEP programme, and said it was in line with the Edo State plans to leapfrog from 19 century teaching styles into the 21st century.
Audrey Odogu, lead philanthropies at Microsoft said that the firm understands how education helps with development and growth of a nation’s GDP, which is why the company plays strongly in the technology space and is home to several innovations, and has several educational tools on its network available to all for free.
“Studies have shown that about 50million technology related jobs will be available in the coming years and only those who are equipped with the knowledge can take advantage of this,” she said.
Studies have shown that about 50million technology related jobs will be available in the coming years and only those who are equipped with the knowledge can take advantage of this
In addition, Odogu said, “Unfortunately, many people are not utilising these Microsoft tools but are confident that Seplat was in the right direction.
The process is nothing without monitoring and evaluation to show how impactful the training has been on the beneficiaries and to act as a guide for further integration and learning.”
Chioma Nwachuku, director of external affairs and sustainability at Seplat Energy Plc in her opening remark said secondary school teachers in public and private schools in the company host States were open to benefiting from the laudable programme.
“The STEP programme has been enormously impactful in touching over 25,000 students within the third year of deploying the programme. It has recorded a total of 634 beneficiaries, which comprise 574 teachers and 60 chief inspectors of education (CIEs).
Over the years, Seplat Energy has invested significantly in other educational Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes such as the PEARLS quiz competition to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Number 4, which promotes education for all,” Nwachuku said.
Furthermore, she reiterated the company’s commitment to sustainability of the programme.
“We strongly believe that education is the bedrock for national development and our STEP deployment aims to enhance teachers’ competencies and empower them with the knowledge and skills to implement STEAM education, amongst other benefits. Seplat Energy is committed to providing this programme annually because of its relevance and positive multiplier effects on boosting quality education,” she said.
Effiong Okon, director of new energy at Seplat Energy commended the Edo and Delta State governments for providing a conducive business environment for the company.
“Seplat’s new energy focus ties strongly to the sustainability programmes in our host states and Nigeria at large.
“Seplat Energy crave for innovation and excellence as it continues to empower teachers and CIEs, and remains committed to celebrating the success stories of the benefiting teachers as well as the students that are being impacted,” Okon said.
To commemorate the certificate presentation ceremony, Seplat Energy hosted a chat session to further deliberate on the role of technology for quality education aligning with the theme of the education roundtable, ‘Transforming the Education Workforce’.
Joan Oviawe, Edo State commissioner for education in her keynote address guaranteed that “technology remains critical to transforming the education workforce and that the 21st-century interaction between teachers and students could be massively impacted and boosted leveraging the right technologies and methods.”
She called for project-based and competency-based learning approaches in schools.
“Our teachers must become technologically-savvy at this time. Data gathering has become very key now and technology provides the right platforms. It is a new era and we are in a new world. Thanks to Seplat Energy and its partners for leading this journey,” she said.
Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta State, represented by Augustine Oghoro, permanent secretary of Delta State ministry of basic and secondary education commended Seplat for its people-focus initiatives, saying the interventions were timely given the need for teachers and students to be equipped with relevant skills to become global champions.
Seplat Energy has continued to drive positive change in the Nigerian educational sector with a strong bias for innovation and technological progress. The company equally craves for the appropriate application of the same to schooling, as new competencies could become game-changers for the country and the Nigerian people.
The occasion was also used to launch the Seplat initiative to donate well-equipped STEAM Laboratories to schools to promote a learning environment where students can participate actively in hands-on, practical STEAM learning.
The goal is to unleash students’ potential and assist them in developing their science, engineering, mathematics, and art skills by using technology to create, collaborate and complete projects.
The STEAM Laboratory, supported by Solar Energy, has internet access to provide the teachers with a technology-enhanced learning environment to support project-based learning for their students.
Seplat STEAM laboratory is designed to help students learn how to work as part of a team, solve problems and apply their knowledge in advanced and creative ways.
Seplat Energy has commenced this initiative with the donation of a well-equipped laboratory firstly to Ihogbe College in Benin City, Edo State. It will extend to more schools in the state and Delta.
Johnson Egharevda, principal of Ihogbe College applauded the firm for embarking on such a programme. He noted that three of the school’s STEP-trained teachers have developed power banks based on knowledge gained.
Seplat noted that the STEP-trained teachers at the first school to receive the STEAM laboratory, Ihogbe College had, despite a relative lack of infrastructure at the school, demonstrated outstanding achievement by applying their learning.
These teachers of Ihogbe College, who were beneficiaries of the STEP put into practice the knowledge gained in the programme by designing and producing a power bank utilising the STEAM principles. The possibilities for more innovations are endless as both teachers and students get exposure to more opportunities like these.
