By Suleiman Adamu, Sokoto
The National Teachers Institute (NTI), Kaduna, has trained no fewer than 7,000 teachers in Special Needs and Disabilities (SENDS), in ten years from 2011 to date.
The Institute’s Director-General, Prof. Musa Maitafsir disclosed at a SENDS Training for members of staff of the Institute a release said.
Also part of the training beneficiaries were staff of the FME according to
Maitafsir who also remarked that the trainings were successfully conducted by the institute through its consultant, Anxiom Learning Solutions.
He said the trained teachers were drawn from across the country, while no fewer than 250,000 teachers across the nation were also provided with adequate learning aids.
Maitafsir said: “This edition is crucial, as we transit through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is also to address the need to upskill teachers, who manage learners with diverse needs and teach across diverse communities in times of disruption.
“The security challenges and conflicts in the country have created a situation where students suddenly do not have access to face-to-face learning.
“It is important that teachers and stakeholders are prepared to support students in their learning.
“Teachers will acquire diverse skills that will ensure they can engage persons with disabilities, either physically or intellectually in the learning experience.”
The NTI Director General further disclosed that over the last decade, the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) and subsequently, SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) officers had been at the forefront of course inclusion in Nigerian classrooms.
Accordingly, Maitafsir said the 2021 edition was pivotal, as it introduced teaching techniques to accommodate children with disabilities in the remote learning experience during periods of disruptions.
“Our intention and desire is to expand the beneficiaries of the capacity development exercise across the 36 states of the country in 2022 and beyond.
“The SENDS training is a critical component in my strategy framework to achieve the 2030 SDG 4.
“Therefore, it is my intention that the success of this programme will serve as a model to enrich the existing content and curriculum content.
“It will also serve to implement the mass training of SENDS teachers across the country in 2022 and beyond,” he said.
