We trained 500 teachers to break vicious teaching cycle – Ganduje

The need to break the vicious teach- ing cycle where students ran away from mathematics and science because teachers cannot teach the subjects qualitatively, informed the training of 500 mathematics and science teachers by Kano state government.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state, who stated this in Kaduna, said mathematics and science are the basis of technological development, hence the need to train the teachers on improved methods of teaching mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics and computer that would attract students and make teaching and learning more participatory.
Addressing the closing ceremony of a 6-day capacity building workshop for 500 Mathematics and Science Teach- ers of Science and Technical Schools Board, Kano, at the National Teach- ers Institute, Kaduna at the weekend, Governor Ganduje said with over 4 million primary school pupils, it is important to improve teaching of the five subjects at the secondary school level.
“We brought the 500 teachers here for training to break the vicious cycle.
We don’t have many students interest- ed in mathematics and science because we don’t have many mathematics and science teachers but by bringing them here we are breaking that vicious cycle.
“We expect them to go and apply the modern method of teaching math- ematics and science and to cascade it down to other teachers, so that we increase the knowledge especially in Kano state because that is basically the foundation of any technological knowledge.
We want them to go back and apply what they learnt here.” Governor Ganduje, who also trained as a teacher, expressed satisfaction with training, noting” “I’m satisfied, that is why I’m smiling.” The Director General/CE of NTI, Prof. Dahuwa Garba Azare, said teach- ing and learning mathematics and sci- ence have been very cumbersome for teachers and pupils and that was why Strengthening Mathematics and Sci- ence Education (SMASE) Center was established to equip teachers with skill sets and knowledge that will make teaching and learning process more meaningful, effective and interesting.
The NTI boss said since the SMASE programme was developed for primary school teachers, they made use of their experience in continuing profes- sional development for the secondary schools, while consulting secondary school curriculum and the WAEC/ NECO 2018 examiners’ report to find out the areas that student fail woefully, using that to come up with a befitting training package.