A three-day training workshop on the implementation of the Early Child Care Development Education, ECCDE, curriculum for teachers and care-givers has been organized by the Ministry of Education.
Speaking at the workshop, the Commissioner for Education, Professor Offiong E. Offiong said that the State Government in its avowed commitment to the provision of qualitative education has solely sponsored the training in different Local Government Areas of the State to underscore the importance of the foundational stage of education.
Professor Offiong who was represented by the Director of schools, Mr. Bassey Okon, stated that the ECCDE programme started without a well defined curriculum thereby giving room for the teaching of primary school curriculum content to toddlers.
He observed that the curriculum was educationally unaccepted but this has been corrected with the publication of the ECCDE curriculum by the Nigerian Educational Resource and Development Council (NERDC).
The Commissioner disclosed that teachers and care givers were now being trained annually and that so far, 210 teachers have been trained this year.
He expressed the Ministry's appreciation to the State Governor for his commitment to the capacity building of teachers.
Earlier, the coordinator of the programme, Mr. Oja Amang, said the aim of the workshop was to make teachers and care-givers to be familiar with the ECCDE curriculum for easy implementation in schools.