Wikimedia Education partners Kwara Govt to train over 70 teachers in MIL
...We're leaving no stone unturned in ensuring education meets global standard -KWSG
In the course of developing education in the state, kwara state government said it's leaving no stone unturned to ensure the sector meet up with global best practices and standard.
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(L-R) Alhaja Giddado, Teaching Service Commission Kwara, Alhaji Idiagbon A. Adebimpe, Director QAD KWASUBEB, Mr. Taiye Odedeji, Representing the Ministry of Education and Human Capital development Kwara, and UNESCO, Alhaja Ahmed Salimot Adeoti, Secretary KWASUBEB, Mrs. Emielu, Resource person for RWC Kwara, Mrs. Olani Olabimpe
From behind- left; 2 Facilitators, Pastor Kayode Alabi, the Moderator for RWC, 5 Teachers who won gift cards as top contributors followed by the project lead, and 2 facilitators.
This was disclosed on Thursday by the Permanent Secretary, Kwara Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, Mrs. Kemi Mary Adeosun at the closing ceremony of a one-month training.
The training which was tagged “Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom (RW-C) Programme”, Nigeria 2022, was organized by Wikimedia Foundation.
According to her, Wikimedia Foundation has opened up the window for Nigeria and Africa for global visibility, acknowledgement, opportunities, and privileges.
Adeosun says that, “I wish to emphasize the commitment of Kwara State to a result-oriented collaborative engagement with credible NGOs, Agencies, and institutions for sustainable development, particularly in the education sector.”
She noted that,the RWC Nigeria Project is in line with the state Governor, His Excellency, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq's pragmatic approach to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Human Capital Development, especially SDG 4 (Quality Education) Target 10 which is premised on Teacher Training and Development for 21st Century Teaching and Learning through Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
“It is crystal clear that education is passing through a process of revolutionary shift from the four walls of the classrooms to virtual classes, chalkboards are being replaced by iPads, the old generation (of teachers) is exiting for the new ones (new normal) and the Next Generation of Managers (Teachers) is uniquely emerging to give the world of education a new shape and outlook.
“I therefore congratulate our newly trained, resilient and fertile-minded teachers for their sacrifice and dedication to the Reading Wikipedia in the classroom project.
“I hope with this development, it is certain that teachers and learners will think beyond their locality and nationality; feel united as a generation of young people to work for a long-lasting global change using Wikimedia resources to find solutions that will together create a sustainable future for education. “ She stated.
The chairman National Library Association, Alhaja Olani K. O in her speech said that, Reading Wikipedia in the classroom is in tandem with UNESCO and Library objectives to provide easy and free information, make them accessible and preserve for posterity.
“In this world of information overload, it has become imperative that reliable and valid sources of information must be carefully selected for Users, Uses, and Utilization. “ Olani says.
According to her, today’s teachers need a readily available ,inexpensive, friendly and easy to use media and information literacy platforms required to operate in a modern classroom.
The librarian said that, “ RWC is a timely project, providing open education sources for learners and teachers to transform, impact for relevance in this digital age. This is geared towards enhancing their knowledge and creativity via various learning platforms.
“This training is hinged on the fact that media and information literacy is a springboard for change and growth. Our democracy, economy, education, and quality of lives are all enhanced by media and information literacy. “
The project lead, Bukola James while speaking said the program is coming at the most auspicious time when the world now operates a knowledge-based economy and the relevance of each segment of the society is put to task to ensure all-round national development.
James stated that, the training which ran for a month ,involving over 70 registered Teachers is focused on how they can successfully use Wikimedia projects to access, retrieve, interpret, and monitor the information consumed whilst developing Open Educational Resources (OERs) by adopting the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Framework using Wikipedia as a learning tool to promote quality education and life-long learning among students.
“The program is the first of its kind in Nigeria,we had over 228 Teachers registering while 78 were selected from 54 Schools within Kwara State and 60 of them certified at the end of the training.”
The program secured, partnership recommendations and approval of stakeholders such as Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO Federal Ministry of Education, headquartered in Abuja; National Library of Nigeria, headquarters in Abuja;Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, Kwara, Nigeria;National Library of Nigeria, Kwara State Branch;
UNESCO Associated School Project Network (ASP-net) in Kwara;State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Kwara;Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Kwara;The Private and Public Secondary School Principals and Teachers in Kwara.