The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has urged Nigerian teachers to embrace digital skills to improve learning outcomes and remain relevant in teaching the present generation of learners.
The move, according to the council, is also expected to enhance the global competitiveness of Nigerian teachers.
The Registrar of TRCN, Dr Ronke Soyombo, stated this in Abuja at a workshop organised by 21st Century Teachers in collaboration with Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria and supported by the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
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Dr Soyombo said the current generation of learners were digital natives who required innovative and technology-driven teaching approaches, noting that traditional classroom methods were no longer sufficient.
She enjoined teachers to transit from teacher-centred instruction strategy to learner-centred engagement that promotes collaboration, creativity and critical thinking in order to improve learning outcomes.
“The children we teach today understand the digital language. Teachers must therefore develop digital skills to connect effectively with them and improve learning outcomes.They are the first generation to grow up with the internet as a constant thing.
“The 21st century child, when you allow them to take ownership, there’s more learning going on. And apart from that, you will see that they even learn better,” the Registrar stressed.
According to her continuous training and retraining of teachers remained essential for improving education standards and producing globally competitive students.
She said TRCN promotes collaboration among educators across public and private schools, including the development and validation of thousands of lesson plans to enhance teaching quality nationwide.
“We encourage the use of Ai for lesson plans as it makes the work easy, while acknowledging the danger and limitations of absolutely depending on it,” Dr Soyombo said.
She also called for stronger stakeholder support to expand digital education initiatives across the country’s 774 local government areas.
The Registrar noted that investing in teachers’ professional development was critical to achieving sustainable education reform and national development.
The Speaker, House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas who was represented at the workshop by his Special Adviser on International Cooperation and Educational Development, Abisoye Da Rocha-Afodu emphasised the need for sustained investment in teacher training, noting that no nation could rise above the quality of its teachers.
“The House of Representatives remained committed to supporting policies and initiatives that promote digital education and empower teachers nationwide,” he explained.
Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, on his part stated that there was the need to continually invest in strengthening teachers’ capacity to improve Nigeria’s education system, learning outcomes and national development, stressing teachers remained central to shaping future leaders and innovators.
The Senator acknowledged that legislative support for education reforms, digital inclusion and improved learning opportunities would remain critical to building a competitive education sector capable of meeting global standards.
Prioritise Data Literacy
The Project Director, 21st Century Teachers, Ayodeji Ogunjobi, while presenting the overview of the workshop, expressed the need for Nigeria to prioritise data literacy training to bridge noticed gaps between Nigerian classrooms and global teaching standards.
Ogunjobi noted that exposure to teaching practices in other countries had revealed deficiencies in data-driven teaching approaches in Nigeria, stressing the need to build digital and data literacy capacity from the foundational level.
“The initiative should cut across all levels of education, including primary, secondary and tertiary institutions,” he said.
He said that stakeholders must collectively understand existing challenges and take deliberate steps toward strengthening teachers’ competencies nationwide.
Declaring the workshop open, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, represented by the Deputy Director, Colleges of Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr Iyabode Ali, said the ministry is fully in support of the initiative which aimed to strengthen teachers’ digital capacity, describing it as strategic and timely.
TRCN has the mandate to register, license and regulate teachers in both public/ private educational institutions in Nigeria, and to accredit teacher education programmes to ensure professionalism and excellence in service delivery.
