By Temitope Akintoye,
The Lagos State Government has commenced an online teacher training program aimed at creating a digitally smart educational workforce and bringing improvements into the state’s school standards.
It revealed that the program was targetted at post-primary school teachers within the state and said that participants would be encouraged to hone digital literacy skills and gain knowledge which would be useful in facilitating learning among public school students.
The Chairman of the Lagos State Teaching Service Commission, Olabisi Ariyo, disclosed that the first batch of trainees were teachers on Grade Level eight till thirteen and that the digital training program would be facilitated at no cost to participants.
Ariyo, while speaking during the program flag off event on Thursday, stated that training was a conscious effort from the government to improve the state’s quality of teachers and urged participants take advantage of the learning opportunity being presented.
She said that an improvement of the state’s educational system was impossible without adequate investment in its teachers and added that the Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration had packaged the training program with aim to further the achievement of its T.H.E.M.E.S agenda.
“Since it is generally accepted that no educational system can rise above the standard of its teachers, the Commission is totally committed to addressing the digital inadequacies of public school teachers who are critical to the realization of the present administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda”, she said.
The Permanent Secretary, Teaching Service Commission, Toyin Awoseyi, who also spoke at the event, disclosed that the training was being held in partnership with Microsoft and ATB Techsoft Solutions Limited, and lauded both companies for the provision of necessary technical support for the implementation of the program.
Awoseyi expressed her expectation that the participating teachers would gain digital consonance with global best practices across that world and stated that such would yield an improvement in the quality of learning being received at the state’s educational facilities.
She encouraged the teachers to embrace the online training program, saying that such would enhance career growth through capacity development which she said had become necessitated by existing coronavirus realities in the nation.
“We would like to appreciate the Lagos State Government for the unwavering commitment to developing the skills of Lagos State Post-Primary School teachers”, she said.
