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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Africa’s leading teacher capacity-building organisation, EDUFORGE, has dragged over 2000 teachers, school principals, proprietors, and education leaders to the classroom for a large-scale educational training.
Speaking during the sessions, renowned education trainer and lead facilitator, Phrank Shaibu, emphasised that the focus of the training was not linguistic elitism but instructional access.
“Today is not about speaking big English,” he said. “It is about reaching every learner.”
The statement he made available in Abuja, Shaibu explained that he facilitated the programme alongside a team of experienced educators—Godwin Adugba, Maria Oche, Jerry Tialobi, and Sifon Akpan, whose coordinated delivery and shared expertise contributed to the depth and smooth execution of the sessions.
Central to the training, according to the facilitators, was the framework of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which challenges educators to design lessons that accommodate diverse learners—fast and slow, confident and reserved, quick to grasp concepts and those who require repetition.
Using relatable local metaphors, Shaibu explained that teaching design must be as inclusive as public infrastructure.
“If only motorcycles can pass on a road, the road has failed,” he said, adding: “A good road allows okada, keke, cars, buses, and trailers to move safely. That is what UDL demands of teaching.”
The sessions also examined how everyday classroom language can unintentionally exclude learners. Through humour-filled but precise examples drawn from common Nigerian English usage, teachers explored how small adjustments in wording, instruction, and feedback can significantly broaden student participation and confidence.
By the end of the training, participants agreed that the experience went beyond grammar or pedagogy—it reframed teaching as a deliberate design process in which language plays a critical role in equity and access.
The Kano training stands as one of EDUFORGE’s largest single-day engagements in Northern Nigeria and reflects a growing appetite among educators for professional learning that is practical, culturally grounded, and immediately applicable.
