Following the urgent need to enhance the teaching and learning of Civic education in Nigerian Schools, Kondrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) has organised a capacity workshop to strengthen the Civic education for youths in Unity Schools in Northern zones.
The workshop which drew participants from all the 57 Unity Schools in the Northern Zone, targeted heads of Civic education units with the aim to sharpen their skills on the use of modern teaching methods of Civic education and also on global best practices of imparting knowledge, ethics and values among the youths
Speaking in her welcome Address, the Country Director, KAS Nigeria, Mrs. Hildregard Behrendt-Kigozi noted that the major objective is to build the capacity of teachers of civic education who have been long neglected by policy makers.
Behrendt-Kigozi who was represented by the Programme Manager KAS, Mr. Uche Nwosu, said that recommendations from findings from a pilot survey on the teaching of Civic education carried out in 2015 shows the need to improve the capacity of Civic education teachers on the subject matter and to ensure innovative teaching strategies including the use of radio for sensitization.
According to her; “We understood the role that Civic education plays in the development of youths in terms of morales, ethics and values so we said okay, because these teachers, many graduated years ago, some 10, 20 years ago and haven’t had any capacity built so they still teach using old models and methodologies.
“We are here to share ideas on how teaching and learning of Civic education can be further enhanced in Nigerian schools” she added.
She further expressed hopes that the workshop will achieve its aims which she said it should, considering the level of expertise of the resource persons, adding that the environment and methodologies are good enough to meet the needs of the workshop.
Also, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr.Jamila Shu’ara in her Goodwill message, said that the need for Civic education in promoting national integration, peace and unity cannot be overemphasized especially in the current day Nigeria.
Representing the Perm. Sec, the Secretary General at Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO,Magdalene Anene-Maidoh expressed excitement over the workshop, stressing that teachers don’t always have such opportunities to be trained.
She added that any initiative that builds the capacity of teachers must be supported as they are the vehicle for transmitting knowledge to the students
She said,”We want to really express our gratitude to KAS, this programmes aims at sharing global best practices in promoting and strengthening the teaching of civic education using pragmatic approaches among the youths and adults in Nigeria”
She urged the selected heads of Civic education to as a matter of necessity impact the knowledge and objective of the workshop to their subordinates in their various schools, calling on teachers to place the right emphasis on national security and healthy communal living.
While giving a background and rationale for the workshop,Education Consultant to KAS, Francesca Edeghere noted that the workshop stemmed from the need to strengthen the teachers and the children in the area of Civic education learning in order to develop the country, governance and democracy.
She however called for the use of relevant tools like radio and possibly cartoons to make teaching of Civic education interactive and enjoyable.
