Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), in conjunction with the First Exploration and Petroleum (E&P) Development Company Limited, has just concluded a three-day training for no fewer than 80 teachers of post-primary institutions, which were drawn from different states of the country.
The training took place at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where the teachers were exposed to all-in-one educational devices that help to enhance the teaching and learning of Science, Technology, and Mathematics (STEM).
The teachers were introduced to ‘K-Yan,’ which is defined in the technology world as “an Interactive Teaching Learning Platform” that incorporates the utility of a fully functional computer, high luminosity projection system, large screen television, DVD player, in-built audio system and an Internet browser, all integrated into a single compact unit called CSRBOX.
The Director of Capacity Building Division in NCDMB, Dr. Ama Ikuru, while speaking at the opening ceremony for the training, said that STEM education has been the focus of the Board over time, as it is in line with its core mandate to develop indigenous capacities and capabilities for the industry.
He stated that NCDMB has undertaken several capacity-building programmes for teachers, which has been aimed at exposing them to trends in technology because there are evident deficiencies in the quality of education from the formal school system that needs to be remedied, adding that “most of the people coming out of schools today are not ready for the oil and gas industry.”
Dr. Ikuru noted that the teachers’ educational standards determine the quality of products that will come from the school system, hence the necessity of upskilling them on a consistent basis because students are only as good as their teachers make them to be.
The General Manager of Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination for NCDMB, Mrs. Angela Okoro, emphasized that the training was very important not only to the teachers but to the Board and the wider society. She urged the teachers to strive to make the most of the opportunity provided and freely express themselves wherever they encountered difficulties in the course of the training.
The Manager of Capacity Building for NCDMB, Mr. Timbiri Augustine, also told the teachers that human capacity development is at the heart of the Board’s operations and that the organization is passionate about promoting STEM education because it determines how successful or otherwise an individual or corporate organization could be in the industry.
The training which was organized by NCDMB and First E&P was geared towards engendering interest in academic subjects that would guarantee the steady supply of critically needed expertise for oil and gas industry operations.