Secretary to Delta state Government, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, on Saturday said that the Teachers Professional Development Centre built by the State government at Owa Oyibu in Ika North East LGA of the state will cater for the training needs of teachers within the state and other parts of the country.

Mr. Ebie stated this while addressing journalists shortly after the inspection of the newly constructed centre ahead of its inauguration.

Mr Ebie who was accompanied on the Inspection by the Commissioner for information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, said that the centre was a fall out of the January 2016 Education summit in Asaba where the need to upscale and enhance the skills of teachers as well as enhance learning through training of teachers came up.

He noted that “one crucial area was in terms of the Skills and the training of the teachers, and so at the end of the day, it was resolved that a teacher development centre be established which will be specifically targeted at the training and retraining of our teachers in the state.”

He noted that “a team was therefore sent out to the Centre for Management Development, (CMD), Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) and a few other institutions to understand and under study them and fuse all we can get from there into one document that will lead to the establishment of this institute.

“So what we have here today is a centre where we can focus on the training of teachers and where we have tailor-made programmes and at the end of the day, the teachers are well trained instead of running adhoc training programs that are not well coordinated by one central body.”

According to him, “The two buildings consist of two auditoria having 500 and 200-seater capacity respectively, having syndicate rooms and meeting room, home economic laboratory, residential lodge of 110 rooms physical and virtual libraries, computer rooms, maintenance and power house, surveillance and security rooms and everything you need for the proper training of teachers.”

“We will also have a desk for the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria here because it is also a prerequisite for every teacher to be registered,” Mr Ebie added.

The SSG who emphasised that the upgrade of teachers knowledge was indispensable in line with the modern trend in education, added that “trainees from the school would be issued certificates at the end of their training.”

On the relevance of the project to the SMART agenda, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, said the centre would help raise fresh crop of teachers in the teaching profession who at the end of their training impact on knowledge seekers.

He said the ongoing harvest of projects in Delta being championed by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was a clear indication that the second tenure of the governor was committed to the development of the state till May 29,2023 in line with his ultimated desire towards achieving a stronger Delta

•PHOTO: Secretary to Delta State Government (SSG) Mr. Chiedu Ebie Esq. (right), Commissioner for Information Mr. Charles Aniagwu (2nd left), Chairman, Ika South LGA, Hon Sunny Tatabuzogwu (2nd left), the Vice Chairman Ika North East LGA. Hon Anazia Colina (behind the SSG), and the Project Manager, Delta State Teachers Professional Development Centre, Engr. Nicholas -West Agholor, during the inspection of the project at Owa-Oyibu. PHOTO: BRIPIN ENARUSAI.

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