British educationist harps on modern teaching techniques

Worried by the growing decay in the country’s education sector, a British ‎educator, Mr. George Bowery, has called on Nigerian authorities and relevant agencies of government to place high premium on teacher training.

Bowery who is the‎ principal of Funtaj International School‎, located in the Gudu District of Abuja, gave the advice at the weekend during the school’s 2015 graduation ceremony.

The school head who spent 13 years teaching in Malawi and Kuwait before relocating to Nigeria last year, said the era which teachers write on black boards for students to copy was over, hence the need for teachers to be adequately trained in modern teaching techniques in order for them to meaningfully impact on their students.

“I was surprised when I came to Nigeria and saw how teachers have been trained to teach. They have not been exposed to new techniques. Here, the teacher talks and the pupils and students write in their books. That was what I observed. That is not an efficient way of teaching. At Funtaj, we have more corporate ways of learning. Here, the pupils and students are the centre of learning and not the teachers,” he submitted.

He argued that in the labour market, employers were looking for skills as against what many teachers in Nigerian schools offer to their students and pupils.  

“Here at Funtaj Schools, you see people learning in groups on how to work together. They learn interaction and negotiations. We call this soft skills. These are the qualities employers are looking for. In Nigeria, people leave school with good academic results, but what makes one different from the other is the character. That is what we try to develop here,” the educationist informed.

He continued, “I have been in Nigeria for twelve months and I have seen the improvements I have made on my teachers. I think Nigeria like every other country should begin to focus on training of teachers. ‎If you train the teachers in a good way, they go out and teach in an efficient way. The key to helping students and pupils is training of teachers. .