As the 2022/2023 session commences, all the 306 state-owned junior secondary schools (JSS) in Edo State have now been incorporated into the EdoBEST programme as the Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (Edo SUBEB) begins a landmark training of an additional 1,446 teachers, head teachers and principals drawn from across the state.
The training, which is taking place in Benin City, has effectively closed the teacher gap in the junior secondary school system by at least 95 percent and ushered 31,963 additional Edo children into a structured methodology of learning through its EdoBEST programme. A total of 365 EdoSTAR fellows are also undergoing the 10-day intensive training which will enable participants to deliver impactful lessons to children using the EdoBEST pedagogy.
Speaking on the first day, Ozavize Salami, Executive Chairman, Edo SUBEB noted that, “this is a landmark achievement for us at Edo SUBEB. It is a major step as we extend the education reforms of the Governor Godwin Obaseki led administration to fully incorporate the JS Schools in line with the on-going JSS disarticulation process.
Government is the largest provider of basic education service in the state and we are optimistic that our deliberate investment in teachers through our professional development programme will lead to measurable improvement in the learning outcomes of all our students located in urban, rural and in even hard-to-reach areas.”
“The mandate is to sustain the gains made thus far under the reforms in the basic education sector and to domesticate the EdoBEST programme such that it stands as a legacy for the people of Edo state even after this administration is long gone.
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“His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki is also committed to closing the teacher gaps especially through the EdoSTAR fellowship programme where 3,000 persons have been employed to fill teaching positions in primary and junior secondary schools across the state. These fellows will benefit from the new minimum wage announced by the governor recently,” Salami said.
In response to questions surrounding the non-payment of stipends to the EdoSTAR fellows, the Executive Chairman affirmed that at least 80 percent of the EdoSTAR fellows have been fully paid their entitlements, while others will receive their full payments in the coming days.
In the face of growing calls for the prioritization of teacher professional development across Nigeria, Edo State has been at the forefront of upskilling teachers. In the first two quarters of 2022 alone, 2,602 teachers, school leaders, Learning and Development Officers (LDOs) and Quality Assurance Officers (QAO) were retrained to enable them to deliver on their jobs as educators and education managers.
At the on-going training, new school and classroom management techniques, modern teaching practices, anti-gender-based violence and child protection strategies as well as other important emerging best practices in school administration are being taught.
Additionally, sessions are tailored to provide support to teachers in other facets of teaching ranging from interpretation of the curriculum to understanding the needs of pupils with a view to motivating them to succeed.
EdoBEST was launched four years ago under the leadership of Joan Osa-Oviawe, the programme has continued to expand to accommodate more students, teachers and schools. Because of the strategic role teachers play in the basic education ecosystem, Governor Godwin Obaseki is prioritizing teacher professional development as a vehicle for accelerating learning.
