The Katsina State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) is partnering with UNICEF Kano Field Office to address the growing learning crisis in the state’s basic education sector.

The collaboration, through stakeholders’ training aims to improve access to quality education and ensure that every child attains foundational literacy and numeracy skills.

Speaking during the training in Katsina on Friday, the facilitators’ team lead, Danjuma Yusuf, said the exercise would promote learner-centred teaching practice and inclusive education in schools.

He said, “You know, there was this time we discovered that there’s learning crisis in Nigeria, and because of that, UNICEF came to support the country. They found out that the causes of this learning crisis in parts of the country are insecurity, COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted learning, alongside other factors. We discovered that there has been a series of training that teachers attend, but in a cascaded model, that’s “train the trainers,” that you train other people and they step down the training. So, when you are training the trainers, what you are giving them, before it gets to the right person that will implement it, is already diluted.’’

According to him, because of this, UNICEF came up with the idea of school-based teacher professional development, where teachers, experts and other stakeholders are brought together for training.

Mr Yusuf stated, “When you bring them together, at the same place, giving them that training at the same time, that’s when we will see teaching and learning taking place effectively. When a teacher is teaching effectively, learning will take place effectively, and you will see improvement in the learning outcome. You’ll see your children reading, and you’ll be asking if it’s magic. Not knowing that the teacher has given the right information that the learner needs, so, learning will take place.

“This method develops the pupil’s critical thinking, problem-solving skills, fosters creativity/innovation, promotes deeper understanding through active engagement, builds confidence/independence, and also lifelong learning habits,” he added.

On his part, the Chairman, School-Based Management Committee (SBMC), Ahmadu Coomassie Model Science Primary School, Katsina, Usman Isiyaku, appealed for the sustainability of the training.

At Daura training centre, the Education Secretary, Fatima Yari, appreciated the facilitators and the organisers for their tireless efforts in enhancing teacher capacity across the state.

She implored the participating teachers across Daura, Katsina and Dutsinma centres to exhibit utmost diligence, professional commitment, and intellectual curiosity throughout the training.

The education secretary further emphasised that such dedication was indispensable to achieving sustainable educational transformation in the state.