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By Sunday Ani
The Anwar-ul-Islam Old Students Association (ACAOSA) Global has called for regular training, better remuneration and incentive for teachers to attract best hands in the profession and secure Nigeria’s future.
ACAOSA made the call at a one-day capacity building it organised for 50 teachers drawn from Anwar-ul-Islam College, formerly Ahmadiyya College, Agege, and Anwar-ul-Islam Girls’ High School, Ojokoro, both in Lagos.
Entitled, “Transforming Teaching with AI: Digital Integration for Smarter Classrooms and Professional Excellence,” the training was facilitated by Brainy Oaks Educational and Professional Consultants.
In his address, the President-General of ACAOSA Global, Dr Abdulfatai Afolabi, said the decision to embark on the initiative was informed by the students’ performance and grades in final examinations.
Afolabi, who graduated from the school in 1975, said the old students had discovered a decrease in school enrollment, hence the need to enhance teachers’ capacity to raise standards and attract more students.
“The enrollment will be informed by the record of performances of our students. If our schools publish results of the school scoring 90 percent success in the external examinations, then enrollment would begin to rise.
“We need to do this because we know that doing it will also mean sustaining the life of our old students’ association,” Afolabi said.
Stressing the importance of teachers’ training and remuneration, he said teachers deserve more than what they are getting in Nigeria.
“Poor reward system has been an age-long phenomenon; teachers are not commensurately or adequately rewarded.
“It has been an age-long belief that teachers’ rewards are in heaven. I think we need to change that axiom now, so that everyone should be able to receive his/her rewards here.
“That is why we organised this training, to motivate the teachers and let them know that they are also important in the lives of the students. We also want to show them that as old students, we are products of teachers, and we can look back,” he said.
He said teachers are important, and if they are not motivated, performances of the students would continue to go down. Afolabi assured of ACAOSA’s readiness to constantly impact students and teachers of schools under the Anwar-ul-Islam Movement.
“We will be having more and more training, addressing thematic and germane educational issues, and, of course, social issues that are desirable for our students.
“Not only do we want to turn out outstanding students academically, we also want to turn out socially desirable students, coming out of our school,” he added
Also, the Deputy National President of ACAOSA, Mr. Abdulsatar Omolola, said that the old students association had invested so much money to bring in consultants and experts to train them in a relaxed atmosphere.
A legal practitioner, Abdulsatar Omolola, said, “We have taken 50 teachers from our school and sister school belonging to the Anwar-ul-Islam Movement to be trained, so that they can go back and become trainers.”
Delivering a seminar on, “Enhancing Lesson Preparation and Delivery,” an educational and professional consultant, Mr Jamiu Mustapha, stressed the need for clear, measurable and time-bound personal and learning objectives on each concept taught in class.
Another facilitator, Mrs Oyinkan Afolabi, who spoke on classroom management, noted the need for teachers to create and maintain a safe, organised and productive learning environment, even as he called for creation of positive classroom culture.
Speaking on digital integration in teaching and the use of artificial intelligence (AI), Dr Joy Isa said technology keeps evolving, but academia was lagging behind and at the bottom of the ladders, tasking teachers on critical thinking, creativity and innovation.
“We cannot use an antiquated system to deliver 21 century learning. Teachers must upgrade and embrace technology. A teacher is the bridge between success and failure,” she said.
Speaking, the Principal, Anwar-ul-Islam College Agege, Mr Abdulwaheed Soyebo, applauded ACAOSA for being sensitive to teacher’s training, describing it as impactful and an eye-opener on how to handle different categories of students.
Soyebo said: “This training will not only help the participants but, also, the whole school. We want ACAOSA to continue training teachers, if possible annually.”
Participants were taken through various sessions, including professional development, enhancing lesson preparation and delivery and classroom management. Other sessions include digital integration in teaching and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and instructional strategies, among others.
