Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) says its Moral Regeneration and Reorientation Initiative addresses the rising tide of antisocial behaviours and its negative impact on school learning outcomes.
The commission’s executive secretary, Dr Hameed Bobboyi, said this in Bauchi when opening a five-day training of master trainers on moral regeneration and reorientation in basic education for 17 states and the FCT.
Bobboyi, represented by the UBEC deputy executive secretary (Technical) Professor Bala Zakari, said indulgence of young learners into harmful behaviours such as cultism, drug abuse, bullying, and sexual and gender-based violence portends danger to their future, the society, and the country at large, hence the resolve to design the initiative.
“I wish to let you know that our nation is greatly challenged with moral degeneration. The value systems have been upturned, and vices that were not exhibited in times past are now showing their heads in our society. Terrorism, cultism, rape and very high spate of violence are now being witnessed. These menaces are negatively impacting learning outcomes and hindering learners from reaching their full potential,” the executive secretary said.
He said the programme focuses on training teachers to integrate moral education into their instruction, school activities, and psychosocial guidance to mitigate the menace to the barest level.
He added, “Following a careful process of co-creation, testing, and refinement of the contents, the Manual and Handbook on Moral Regeneration and Reorientation are ready to be used to train selected master trainers from public and private basic education schools who will subsequently cascade the training down to other teachers across the 36 States and the FCT.
“The training content encompasses building morals and developing social and emotional competence. Besides, it will also build the skills of the teachers in managing learners in the digital world as technology has been introduced in the classroom, and learners need to be guided appropriately in its use.”
Earlier, the UBEC director of teacher development, Olumayowa Aleshin, represented by the assistant department director, David Akere, expressed optimism that the initiative would ensure young learners are taught essential values and principles to guide their lives as they grow into responsible adults.
“I would like to plead, therefore, that we take this responsibility with utmost commitment, especially
because the effective cascading of the skills and knowledge to be dispensed have rest on us,” Aleshin appeals.
