Yaba College of Technology has blazed the trail to become the first tertiary institution in the country to train and certified over 40 staff in Gender Responsive Pedagogy (GRP), a ground-breaking initiative of the college Girls’ Education and Skills Partnership (GESP) program.

This was facilitated by the United Kingdom based International Network for Advancing Science and Policy (INASP) that equipped the participants with the knowledge and tools to integrate GRP into classroom as a collaboration effort sponsored by Unicef Generation Unlimited and Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The three days training workshop empowered the participants with the skills to challenge gender biases, foster equal participation and create inclusive learning environments where students regardless of gender can reach their full potential.

The Project coordinator of GESP in the college, Dr. Funmilayo Doherty, in her welcome address, disclosed that the participants are the first cohort of GRP trainers in Nigeria tertiary education system and will be playing pivotal role in shaping the future of education and would be the driving force in expanding GRP knowledge.

The rector, Dr Ibraheem Abdul, commended the INASP team for partnering with YABATECH’s GESP initiative and highlighted the importance of innovation in education, stating that true innovators dedicate themselves fully to setting exemplary standards.

He urged participants to embrace the GRP initiative and equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to drive meaningful change in the educational sector not minding the herculean task attached to it.

“Gender-Responsive Pedagogy is an innovative concept that holds great potential for the future. It is imperative that everyone embraces this forward-thinking approach to foster an inclusive and balanced educational environment,” Dr. Abdul declared.

The rector, however, encouraged participants to commit wholeheartedly to the GRP initiative and to become advocates of innovation as the world awaits the showcasing of their expertise in no too distant future.

The representative of INASP UK, a Senior Programme Specialist in gender responsiveness programming and pedagogy, Mai Hoff Skovgaard, expressed her delight and satisfaction on the enthusiasm, passion and warm embracement of Nigeria at the workshop.

She outlined that  the participants have acquired knowledge and confidence in understanding GRP and how it transforms education, identifying strategies to eliminate stereotypes from curricula, teaching methods and classrooms interactions, inclusive teaching and assessment techniques with practical approaches to ensure that all student receive equal learning opportunities and also action planning for institutional change on how to integrate GRP principles into teaching practices and institutional policies.

Other team members of the INASP UK that facilitated the training are Professor Flora Fabian, a founding vice chancellor of Mwanza University, Tanzania and Dr. Albert Lauswata, a senior lecturer and chair, Centre for Ethics, Uganda Martyrs University.