The Chief of Party of the USAID-funded Northern Education Initiative Plus project, Dr. Jordene Hale, paid a familiarization visit to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Arc. Sonny Echono.
Echono commended the efforts of the United States government through the project to improve early grade reading in Northern Nigeria.
He said the Ministry is gathering evidence on the impact of the project and utilizing its best practices to promote use of mother tongue in early years and transition to English for improved learning outcomes.
“The Ministry of Education appreciates what USAID is doing and we hope to find more ways to collaborate and also deepen the existing partnership that we have,” he said.
In her remarks, Hale stressed the need to intensify teacher development and establish systems for their effective deployment.
“As a former teacher, I am always concerned about teacher development and quality of delivery in the classrooms. The Initiative project, for instance, has trained over 9,000 teachers and it is important for major stakeholders to put in place adequate deployment structures,” she said.
Responding, the Permanent Secretary noted that, although teacher training has been a huge challenge, the Ministry is intensifying efforts to improve pedagogy and increase teacher’s access to educational tools.
“For us, teacher training will always remain a major priority. That is why we are thankful for this collaboration between the ministry of education and the project.”
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