The newly established Teachers Continuous Training Institute, TCTI, in Biase, Cross River State, which kicked off last year is set to be a leading teacher educational institution in Nigeria with plan to retrain 500,000 Primary and Secondary School teachers in Nigeria.
TCTI was established by the Cross River State Government in 2020, as part of efforts to boost teacher education and improve the quality of teachers in the country.
Pioneer Director-General of the Institute, Professor Taoheed Adedoja, made this known at the opening ceremony of a three-day workshop organised by the institute for 1400 principals of both public and private secondary schools in Cross River State.
Deputy Governor of the State, Prof Ivara Ejemot Esu, who declared the workshop open in Biase, expressed great satisfaction with the quality of teacher development efforts of the institute.
“The siting of the institute in Biase local government has also changed the socio-economic narratives of the local community,” he said.
The deputy governor, a former minister and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, further charged the principals as the custodians of the teaching workforce to encourage all teachers in the state to fully participate in the various retraining programmes of the institute.
In an interview with reporters after the opening ceremony, Prof Adedoja disclosed that TCTI Biase had also established a mobile workshop and training unit that was fully equipped for retraining programmes in any urban or rural centers in the country.
“Scores of visitors and international organisations come to TCTI Biase frequently to appraise our facilities with the state-of-the-art digital learning environment required for the 21st century teacher reskilling initiatives.”
The state’s Commissioner for Quality Education, Dr Godwin Amank, charged teachers in the state to avail themselves of the opportunities for retraining readily available in TCTI Biase, while the Head of Service, Mr Timothy Abang Akwaji, announced that thenceforth evidence of attendance of retraining in Biase would be counted in career progression for principals and teachers in the state.
The chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Chief Offu Aya, in his remarks said that SUBEB and TCTI were natural partners in teacher retraining programmes and that SUBEB training programme for teachers would be domiciled in TCTI, Biase.
Key stakeholders that presented goodwill messages at the opening ceremony of the workshop organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Quality Education were Mrs Ada Charles Egwu, Biase local government council chairperson; Comrade Gregory O Layi, Chairman, Nigerian Union of Teachers Cross River State, and Dr Noah Ashibi of Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria.
Apostle Nicolas Odum, the paramont ruler of Biase local government council thanked the governor of the state, Prof Ben Ayade, for making Biase local government community a beneficiary of the laudable socio economic programme of the state.
Two other phases of the workshops for principals would be held in Ikom, for the central and at Ogoja for the northern district.
