Some experts have said building the right skills for the next generation of teachers will provide the appropriate educational foundation for children in Africa.
This was disclosed on at the #NextGen Educators Forum, themed, ‘The transformation of education begins with teachers.’
The discussion, held on zoom, focused on various themes, which included innovative technologies and pedagogies at the frontier of education in Africa, empowering educators to define new ways of learning for pupils, digital equity: implementing digital transformation in the areas of teaching and effectively substituting the traditional learning confined to four walls.
The Chief Executive Officer, Junior Achievement Africa, Simi Nwogugu, stated that educators needed to be equipped with the right set of skills to adapt to the needs of the students in a learning environment.
She said, “Educators need to understand that their traditional role as expert imparting knowledge has evolved to that of guide facilitating knowledge-acquisition, design thinking and critical reasoning skills in their students. To do this effectively, educators themselves need to be equipped with these and other emotional intelligence skills to be able to continually adapt to the needs of the students under their charge. Forums like this help steer all of us in the education sector in the right direction for how best to empower teachers to be more effective in the classroom.”
The Chief Executive at Teach for Nigeria, Folawe Omikunle, stated that for Africa to reach its full potential, it needed to invest in education.
He said, “The only way African countries can reach their full potential is by investing in education. By investing in teachers, we are investing in our children’s futures, and inevitably that of our continent. We know there are numerous challenges educators face, and these discussions will help in providing African solutions to African challenges.”
The HP’s Senior Education Business Leader for Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe, Mayank Dhingra, said, “The time to rethink and reshape the future of Africa’s education sector is now. The past few years hav e thrust the sector into dramatically new ways of learning. It has shown us that we need to empower teachers with the right tools to ensure that learners have the best chance at future-proof outcomes.”
