In a bid to improve school effectiveness and familiarize Education Secretaries with their roles on smooth implementation of the UBE programme, the Commission conducted a 3-day workshop across the 6 Geopolitical Zones on Improving School Effectiveness

The aim of the training was to expose Education Secretaries to important components of the UBE programme as well as the School Based Teacher Professional Development Model. A team of dedicated UBEC staff (Teacher Development) were deployed to the Six (6) geopolitical zones to coordinate and monitor the training and to also provide support to resource persons and quality assurance officers assigned for effective and efficient conduct of the 3-day training.

The training was conducted in 6 centres in the 6 Geopolitical Zones on 22 – 24 September 2021 (for South South – (Akwaibom), South East (Enugu), South West (Ibadan) and North Central (Nasarawa) zones) and on 27 – 29 September 2021 (for North East (Bauchi) and North West (Kaduna)). Facilitators for the training were experts drawn from similar trainings recently concluded by ESSPIN and Teacher Development Programme of the UKAID. Officers from the Quality Assurance Department of the Commission also sensitized the Education Secretaries on quality assurance methods.

The 3-day workshop included a flag-off ceremony held in Lafia, Nasarawa State. The Flag-off ceremony had in attendance the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, Governor Abdullahi Sule, the Chairman, Governing Board Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Prof. Adamu Kyuka Usman, the Executive Secretary, UBEC, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, among others.

The UBEC Board Chairman stressed the need for education secretaries to implement knowledge and skills gained at the workshop for school improvement and the provision of quality education to the Nigerian children as an enduring legacy for the future generation. In the same vein, the Executive Secretary reiterated that the ultimate goal of the basic education programme is ensuring that all children of school age, irrespective of background, attain a minimum of ten years of quality basic education. He emphasized the relevance of education secretaries in the implementation of basic education programme and the efforts of the Commission at improving the quality of education through capacity building of teachers in the 36 States and FCT from 2015 till date. He further stressed that the challenge of delay in accessing and implementation of TPD funds by the States and the need for measures to be taken in facilitating this process;

In closing, the Executive Secretary pleaded with all stakeholders to join the Commission in ensuring the delivery of quality education in Nigeria.

UBEC CONDUCTS IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF JOLLY PHONICS AND SMASE PROGRAMMES

As part of measures to enhance the quality of education in Nigeria, the Commission has been supporting the implementation of Strengthening Mathematics and Science Education (SMASE) and Jolly Phonics in the 36 States and FCT under its Teacher Professional Development programme over the past five years. These programmes among others are the Commission’s notable initiatives aimed at improving the capacity of in-service teachers on effective teaching and learning of literacy, numeracy and sciences for improved learning outcomes in basic education schools across the country.

In view of the huge amount of funds expended, and the need to ascertain benefits derivable from the implementation of the programmes so far, the Commission conducted an Impact Assessment of SMASE and Jolly Phonics on 540 basic education learners and 54 teachers in 216 experiment and controlled schools within the following 12 states, namely; Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Delta, Imo, Kano, Kwara, Osun, Ondo, Sokoto and Taraba; 2 States selected per Geopolitical Zone.

The conduct of the impact assessment exercise was to among others determine the extent to which teachers and basic education managers are putting into practice the new knowledge and skills gained from the use of the approaches in teaching, assess the extent to which learners and teachers benefit from the new experiences of the use of Jolly Phonics and SMASE approaches in the classroom, identify areas of strength, weaknesses and implementation challenges of the approaches for strengthening or remediation of effective teaching and learning process; and to enable the Commission make informed decision on the continuous funding and implementation of the programmes.

The report of the impact assessment of Jolly Phonics and SMASE is envisaged to guide the Commission in her quest to redefine and improve the quality of teaching and learning of literacy, numeracy and sciences with a view to promoting effective schooling. Key areas lacking in the implementation of these two programmes will equally be reviewed and resolved for improved educational outcomes.

Keywords: Impact Assessment, Literacy, Numeracy