UBEC moves to tame the rising tide of anti-social behaviors, immorality in Schools.
UBEC Deputy ES Professor Bala Zakari addressing the participants.
By Abubakar Baba Ahmad.
The Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC, says its Moral Regeneration and Reorientation Initiative is aimed at addressing the rising tide of anti-social behaviors which are negatively impacting learning outcomes in schools.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission Dr Hameed Bobboyi stated this at the opening of a 5-day Training of Master Trainers on Moral Regeneration and Reorientation in Basic Education for 17 States and the FCT held in Bauchi.
Dr Hameed Bobboyi represented by the UBEC Deputy Executive Secretary Technical Professor Bala Zakari said indulgence of young learners into harmful behaviors such as cultism, drug abuse ,bullying, sexual and gender-based violence portends danger to their future, the society, and the country at large, hence the resolve to design the initiative.
“I wish to let you know that our nation is greatly challenged with moral degeneration. Value system has been upturned and making vices which were not exhibited in times past are now showing its head in our society. Terrorism, cultism, rape and very high spate of violence are now being witnessed. These menaces are negatively impacting learning outcomes and hindering learners from reaching their full potentials”, UBEC ES emphasises.
He said the programme focuses on training teachers to integrate moral education into their instruction, school activities, and psychosocial guidance to mitigate the menace to the barest level.
“Following a careful process of co-creation, testing, and refinement of the contents, the Manual and Handbook on Moral Regeneration and Reorientation are ready to be used to train selected Master Trainers from Public and Private Basic Education Schools who will subsequently cascade the training down to other teachers across the 36 States and the FCT”.
” The content of the training encompasses building morals and developing social and emotional competence. Besides, it will also build skills of the teachers in managing learners in the digital world as technology has been introduced in the classroom and learners are needed to be guided appropriately in its use”, Dr Bobboyi notes.
Earlier, the UBEC Director Teacher Development Olumayowa Aleshin represented by Assistant Director in the department David Akere, expressed optimism that the initiative would ensure young learners are taught important values and principles that will guide their lives as they grow into responsible adults.
“I would like to therefore plead that we take this responsibility with utmost commitment especially because the effective cascading of the skills and knowledge to be dispensed have rest on us”, Aleshin appeals.
On his part, the Chairman UBEC Moral Reorientation and Regeneration Committee Reverend Edwin Jarumai said the training will expose the participants to key components of the training manual, methodology of delivery, classroom activities, and supplementary reference materials to ensure success.
“Today, we embark on a 5-day training programme designed to enhance the capacity of state expert teams to effectively train select teachers and education managers from the 36 states and the FCT”, Rev. Jarumai states.
In separate goodwill messages, the representative of the Executive Chairman Bauchi SUBEB and Director School Services Zuhairu Usman, UBEC Zonal Director Northeast Abdullahi Jarma and the Lead Facilitator Dr Henry appealed to the trainees to pay attention to ensure moral values are brought back to the basic education sub sector.
The training which has in attendance 54 participants drawn from the academia with three from each of the 17 northern states and the FCT, and their counterparts from the southern region including Kogi and Kwara are undergoing same in Ibadan.
