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From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

AKaduna-based NonGovernmental Organisation, Emerald-Isle Foundation (EIF) on Monday began a five-day training of primary school teachers on digital literacy in Kaduna State.

EIF Chief Executive Officer, Ms Evelyn Ode, said at the opening of the training at Queen Amina College Kakuri, Kaduna, that the aim was to transform the teachers from analogue to digital teachers.

Ode said that the training was organised in partnership with the Kaduna Basic Education Accountability Mechanism (KADBEAM), IHIFIX Foundation, Queen Amina College, LEAP Africa, and the Coalition of

Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment & Development (CALPED).

Ode said that 25 teachers from Local Education Authority Primary School, Nasarawa I, would be trained as a pilot, on basic digital skills, under EIF Train the Tutor Project, designed to improve the capacity of teachers.

This, according to her, is in line with the foundation’s focus on helping underserved children to gain access to quality education that will help them actualize their full potential.

She added that the training was the second phase, designed to build the capacity of teachers to leverage on digital devices to teach in class with a view to improve learning outcomes.

According to her, the goal is to improve teaching and learning outcomes in public and private schools in Kaduna in line with the current digital age.

“The world is evolving, and teaching and learning processes have gone digital.

“Therefore. Our teachers must not be left behind; they must be equipped with the needed digital skills to be able to use digital devices to improve their teaching delivery in the classroom.”

Ode said that the foundation had earlier improved the teachers’ teaching practices with a focus on classroom management and taking advantage of child development stages to impact the needed knowledge.

She explained that digital skills training became necessary to bridge identified gaps during the foundation’s Literacy Drive Project to improve learners’ reading skills using phonics (sounds of letters).

“We noticed the teachers’ Inadequate skills in the usage of the internet to source for relevant materials to enrich their lesson plans.

“We then decided to train the teachers on the basics of computers, how computers operate, and how they can use online platforms to source for materials to enrich their lesson plans and notes.

“This, in the long run, will trickle down to the learners and improve their learning outcomes,” she said.

The Head Teacher of the school, Mrs Victoria Ayuba, thanked EIF for the gesture which she described as very crucial to effective teaching and learning.