Nigeria’s Teaching Methods Obsolete, Says Osinbajo

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Paul Obi in Abuja
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday bemoaned the low standard of education in the country, blaming poor teaching methods adopted by teachers in most strata of education across the country as the bane of education.

He maintained that many children in the country do not know how to read and write due to poor teaching methods in use in most schools, particularly, outside major cities.

The vice-president stated this in Abuja during the Nigeria Annual Education Conference 2016 organised by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria (EDOREN).

According to Osinbajo, Nigeria’s education has the potential of getting better with the application of modern technology to replace the obsolete classroom teaching method being employed by teachers.

“There are available methods today that can accelerate teaching, reading and writing. But the reason that they are not available in the public schools is because we are not investing enough; not just in technology but in new methods and ensuring that those children in public schools have access to some of the better methods of reading and writing.

“It is my respectful view that it is the responsibility of those of us who are educationists to think through the solutions for delivering relevant education with the very little resources available,” he stressed.

Osinbajo stated: “The fastest way to bridge the gap between those who can afford the quality of education and those who cannot is technology. Technology also provides the means to leapfrog the huge knowledge gap created daily between the hemispheric North and South.”
He added: “Fortunately, technology is becoming cheaper and more intuitive. It is, therefore, quite clear that teacher education itself must radically change; teacher training must be technology-driven.

“I also think that a teacher must be trained in a much wider curriculum. A teacher must be trained in employability skills, project management, financial management and entrepreneurial skills and technology skills even programming for those who are interested.

“Training this new generation of young people is a new challenge. Today, we are training individuals who must learn to multi-task and compete in the global society. The best jobs will require complex skill; the good news is that this type of training is available and can be made much cheaper and more available.

“Education is a tool of empowerment; the lack or inadequacy of it can also disempower; so, education can create or deepen inequality in the society.

He said such could create a well-educated few with access to best opportunities and others who are simply not qualified enough to take.”
Osinbajo noted that he and his wife had established a trust where technology is applied in the teaching and learning.

He said the federal government would provide an inclusive and equitable education for all Nigerian children irrespective of family background.
The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, said the objective of the forum was to provide an opportunity for communicating research evidence that would guide basic education policy and practice of the federal and state governments.

Adamu stressed that the conference would also provide a platform for stakeholders to exchange ideas on how education actors can best transform educational practices to provide quality basic education for all.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwukah, said the present administration is poised to improve the quality of education and in particular that of teachers.
“This underscored the fact that teachers are key to the achievement of the education 2030 agenda whose central theme is ensuring ‘Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Promote Life Long Opportunities for all.’ We must therefore give premium to the status of teachers in our country,” the minister added.