27th July
A one-day orientation programme was conducted by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in collaboration with the Digital Resource Center, UBEC. The Country Director Mr Son Sungil warmly welcomed the selected trainees to the event and expressed delight in finally meeting the deserving candidates before they departed for South Korea for the 3-week training and wished them successful exercise in South Korea.
The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Hamid Bobboyi in his speech explained the purpose behind the establishment of the Smart schools in Nigeria and the enormous support received from KOICA in that regard. He elucidated that the training of guiding teachers in the field of Mathematics and Science is part of the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Nigeria and Korea. The ES implored the trainees to be keen and attentive to the training activity while in Korea and urged them to be good ambassadors of Nigeria.
In the same vein, the National Coordinator of the DRC, Professor Bashir Galadanci in his address also welcomed the participants to the orientation programme. He stated that the teacher selection process was indeed a rigorous one as can be attested by the trainees while emphasizing that upon their return to Nigeria, the teachers are expected to revolutionize the education system in the country by cascading their newly acquired knowledge and expertise to other teachers nationwide.
The 21-day invitational training was organized by KOICA to support UBEC to equip Smart School teachers with the requisite 21st-century digital skills in a bid to move world-class quality basic education forward in Nigeria. The trainees were drawn from the six KOICA-supported States of Anambra, Bauchi, Cross River, Ekiti, Kano and Nasarawa.