Nigeria

New Opportunities For Police Children

By

Chris Ajaero

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 Newswatch

Sunday Ehindero, inspector-general of Police, orders that police schools be fully equipped to provide high quality education required under the Universal Basic Education, UBE, scheme

Sunday Ehindero, inspector-general of Police, is not leaving anything to chance in his efforts at ensuring qualitative education for the children of police officers. To this end, he has directed all police primary and secondary schools in the country to fully embrace the Universal Basic Education, UBE, scheme.

In order to equip head teachers and commandants of these schools with the knowledge required for effective implementation of the scheme, the police boss has also instructed the Force Education Unit to regularly organise seminars for them. Last week, one of such seminars was held in Lagos.

Abayomi Akeremale, a deputy commissioner of police and force education officer, told Newswatch that the seminar was meant to keep the heads of schools abreast of the current trends in education, particularly the new 9-3-4 system. He explained that after their own training, the heads of schools would, in turn train all the teachers under them. "It is a train the trainers' seminar. Experts in the field of education were brought in at the seminar to enlighten participants on the methodology of teaching so that they would be in a position to give their best to pupils and students," Akeremale said.

He noted that the force education unit has made adequate preparation for the UBE scheme, which he described as development-oriented and practical. With the new system, children will be in a better position to decide whether to pursue intellectual work or take up vocational training. To ensure that the scheme is functional in police schools, Akeremale said the unit had recruited qualified teachers for practical subjects like Introductory Technology and Agricultural Science.

The force education officer explained that the Inspector-General of Police was aware that in this computer age, children would need to have computer knowledge right from the primary school. This was why he released funds for the purchase of computer for all the police primary and secondary schools.

Already, introduction of computer education in police primary schools is yielding desired results.

Akeremale told Newswatch at a recent computer programme organised by Chevron, that pupils from the police primary schools exhibited a high level of understanding of the computer.

He said in order to further boost computer education and improve the standard of learning in police schools, the force education unit recently set up a research and development section. The new section is charged with the responsibility of using the computer to collate data required for the improvement of the quality of education in police schools as well as ensuring that they keep pace with the global trends in education.

Akeremale said the next major assignment of the force education unit was to establish more police primary and secondary schools in states that do not yet have them. The Inspector-General of Police, who is also an educationist, has given the unit all the support needed to achieve this goal. "Our target is to ensure that we have a police secondary school in each of the geopolitical zones of the country and that all the states in the country have police primary schools for the training of children of police officers," he said.

Teachers are also being motivated to give their best and to help turn police primary and secondary schools into centres of academic excellence.

Sola Ehindero, a professor of education at Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, delivered a lecture on administrative procedures and problems in school management at the seminar. He told head teachers that they were the prime movers of the UBE scheme and should, therefore, adopt strategies to enable them meet the challenges posed by the educational reforms introduced by the Federal Government.

He, however, said that in order for the reforms to achieve desired objectives, early childhood education should be incorporated into the 9-3-4 system.

Comment: Interesting to see what's happening in other parts of the world.