By Gabriel Dike
As part of the on-going reforms in the basic education sub-sector, Aisha Garba led Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) is conducting a crucial training programme for designated project officers and School Support Officers (SSOs) aimed at enhancing teacher quality and support systems in Oyo, Adamawa, and Katsina (OAK) States.
This initiative is a key component of the Transforming Education Systems at State Level (TESS) programme, an Additional Financing (AF) provided by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to build upon the successes of the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) programme in these states.
The TESS programme focuses on three critical result areas: reducing the number of out-of-school children, improving teachers’ teaching practices, and enhancing teacher deployment and education expenditure transparency.
This current training directly addresses the second result area (Disbursement Linked Indicator Area 2 – DLI 2) by equipping key education stakeholders with the knowledge and skills to effectively support teachers through structured pedagogy methods and digital resources.
In a related development, the commission took a significant step toward institutionalizing workplace safety with the successful finalization of its Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Policy Manual.
The meeting, held to present, review, and approve the policy document, was chaired by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Mr. Rasaq Olajuwon Akinyemi, on behalf of the Executive Secretary, Dr. Aisha Garba.
It brought together key stakeholders including: Mr. Segun Tunde Ajibulu, Deputy Secretary, Services; UBEC management staff, Ms. Stella Blaize; National Coordinating Consultant on Safeguarding; members of the Safeguard team and two specialist Consultants.
The objectives of the session were threefold: to present the finalized OHS Policy Manual; to critically review its contents and to ensure alignment with UBEC’s vision for workplace safety and employee well being.
This milestone marks a renewed commitment by the Commission to uphold the highest standards of occupational health and safety.
The newly adopted manual will serve as a guiding framework for promoting a safe, healthy, and productive work environment across all UBEC departments, offices and operations.
UBEC remains dedicated to safeguarding the health and welfare of its workforce while fostering a culture of responsibility and compliance in line with national and international best practices.