A WELCOME
ADDRESS BY THE DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
PROF. KAY C. N ONYECHI ON THE OCCASION OF THE OPENING CEREMONY OF A 3-DAY
NATIONAL WORKSHOP OF THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
3RD APRIL, 2019
The Vice
Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. B. C. Ozumba
Deputy Vice
Chancellors
Other Principal
Officers of the University
Keynote Speaker-
Prof. J. O. Ajiboye, Registrar/Chief Executive TRCN
Deans of
Faculties
Directors of
Institutes/Centres
Distinguished Awardees
Professors,
Heads of Departments and other Academics
Distinguished
invited guests
Our Revered Workshop
participants
Respected Ladies
and Gentlemen
Great Lions and
Lionesses
It
is indeed a previledge and delight for me to present this address to this
distinguished audience on the auspicious occasion of the opening ceremony of a
3-day National workshop of the Institute of Education, UNN. I am particularly
thrilled to witness this event and to share the joy of making it my first official
function since assumption of office as the Director of the Institute of
Education. I humbly wish to use this opportunity to thank God who granted you
all journey mercies from your various destinations to this great citadel of
learning. I hereby welcome you to this National Workshop, award presentation to
our distinguished lovers of Education and the unveiling of the 2018Institute of
Education Journal.
Today’s
event is very significant to the Institute of Education in many respects.
Firstly it is a fulfillment of the statutory vision/mandate of the Institute
towards the promotion of Research and Extension services in Teacher
education/Teacher professionalism. Secondly, it conforms with the institutional
vision of the founding fathers of this great institution to promote world class
education with a view to “restoring the dignity of man”. Thirdly it is a clear
testimony to the fact that the institute of education is steadily rising to the
challenges confronting teacher training and teaching profession as a whole in
our fast changing society.
The
theme of this workshop “Innovative Instructional Delivery for Sustainable
Teaching and Learning” coincidentally centres on current issues and challenges
besetting teacher effectiveness in schools and could therefore not have been
more appropriate than this auspicious moment in our history. This is largely so
because it is predicated on the need to improve or enhance teacher quality
which constitutes the major concerns of the various stake holders in the
education sector namely Federal, State and Local Governments and other lovers
of Education respectively. These concerns stem from persistent poor performance
of students in both internal and external examinations which evidently could be
attributed to instructional failure in schools (Basic and Post-Basic levels)
owing largely to inadequate utilization of innovative instructional approaches, materials, media
and assessment practices for sustainable teaching and learning.
The
consequences of the above trend are not only negatively obvious but are also
very worrisome and deserve urgent and timely professional intervention. This is
with a view to assisting teachers become increasingly inclined or disposed to
using innovative instructional delivery approaches capable of meeting diverse
instructional needs of students in different classrooms settings. All these
concerns greatly justify the need for this workshop
This
workshop, based on the above premise is therefore geared among other things
towards assisting participants to;
1.
Gain/have
clear understanding of learners diverse needs for alternative but effective
innovative instructional delivery approaches/resources/material/media in the
classroom
2.
Gain
practical experiences in the use of available and improvised innovative instructional delivery
approaches/resources/materials/media in the classroom
3.
Design,
construct and utilize Teacher-made tests and other innovative assessment
practices for sustainable teaching, measurement and management of learning
outcomes in the classroom.
The sub-themes
of the workshop also revolve around quality assurance issues and problems on
teacher instructional delivery in the classroom. Expectedly the sub-themes
which the participants will be exposed to by distinguished and erudite resource
persons centre on key issues which are very vital to the aims of this workshop.
These are concepts of Innovation and Innovativeness in Instructional Delivery,
Application of innovative instructional delivery in Mathematics, Science and
Technology classrooms, Application of innovative instructional delivery in arts
and humanities classrooms, application of instructional
resources/materials/media for sustainable teaching and learning and lastly
Innovative Assessment practices for sustainable teaching and learning.
May I use this
opportunity to remind you that gone are the days when ineffective teaching and
unprofessional teachers were tolerated in the educational system, Teaching
today demands high level of professionalism which can only be sustained through
continuous in-service training and retraining programmes which workshop of this
nature can offer. The need for this emphasis is borne out of the widely
acknowledged opinion that teachers constitute a very vital factor to the
development of our nation “since no society can rise above the quality of its
teachers”. Thus Nigerian society needs teachers who are not only well trained
and committed but also very innovative in the discharge of their onerous
duties. I am very optimistic that this workshop will not fail in this
expectation.
CHALLENGES
To achieve its
mandate of promoting Research and Extension services in Teacher Education and
Teacher Professionalism, the Institute of Education has been facing numerous
challenges which are both worrisome and distracting in promoting Teacher
Education, Teacher professionalism and Extension services, etc. These
challenges are in the form of the following needs:
1. Project vehicle:
At
the moment the office of the Director has no functional project vehicle/car
which is needed for effective movement, supervision and organization of
professional activities of the Institute which are aimed at promoting research
extension services in Teacher education and Teacher professionalism, the
present project vehicle being used by the Director was procured ten years ago
and is no longer functional due to series of travels and accidents. We
therefore call on relevant stakeholders especially philanthropists to come to
our aid
2.
A 14-Sitter
coaster/traveler bus: The Institute at the moment has no utility vehicle
to convey staff and workshop materials to workshop venues outside the
University. As a matter of fact, the
Institute has been getting invitations for one extension service or the other
across various states of Nigeria and will need a bus to convey staff and
materials to these destinations. The vehicle will also be needed for
supervision of Teaching practice,
linkage programmes and other research activities of the Institute
3.
45 KVA sound
proof lister generator: The Institute is also in dare need of the above
caliber generator to provide alternative power supply in case of power failure.
The generator will also power the ICT and Micro Teaching laboratory as well as
assist in the production of examination/research materials and other related
publication activities.
4.
Instructional
materials: Facilities
such as seats, tables, shelves, drawers, cupboards, printers and its
accessories, laptops and its accessories, etc are also needed for effective
functioning of the Institute.
5.
Functional Micro
teaching/ICT Lab requirements: Items such as laptops,
printers, scanners, moderms, CCTV, interactive board, extension wires, USB
cables, flash drives, photocopiers, External hard disc drives are also needed
urgently by the Institute for its operations.
6.
Carports: We need carports
to protect Staff and visitors vehicles from sun and other diverse effects of
weather.
We
shall be highly grateful if individuals and cooperate bodies/organizations can
come to our aid in any or some of the above areas. I assure you that you will reap the benefits of
partnering/supporting us in this onerous task of nation building through
Education.
Once
more I on behalf of the entire Institute heartily appreciate our supportive and
innovative Vice Chancellor and Chairman of this occasion, our unique Deputy
Vice-Chancellors, keynote speaker, awardees, distinguished guests and
participants for being present at the opening ceremony of this workshop. To the
Participants I join the Vice Chancellor to urge you to take the Workshop
seriously in order to benefit immensely from it. May the Almighty God grant you
peaceful stay and fruitful deliberations in Jesus name. Once again I welcome
everyone here present and God’s blessings.
Thank
you for listening patiently
Prof Kay. C. N
Onyechi
Director Institute
of Education
The Institute of Education was inaugurated as an independent academic unit in the University of Nigeria in 1963. “To sponsor and aid teacher training colleges, to conduct research on current Classroom issues problems and to be responsible for short courses of the refresher type in teaching Education.
Objectives of the Institute of Education
- To maintain adequate and effective contact between the University of Nigeria, the Ministry of Education and Teacher Training Institutions in the interest of continual improvement and further professionalization of teacher education in Nigeria.
- To assist in curriculum planning and development of education Programmes of the Institute.
- To serve as consultative body to the Ministry of Education or the State School Board on any matter affecting Teacher Education in Nigeria.
- To organize In-service Training and extramural courses and programmes for teachers (short courses, Conferences, Seminars, Training and Workshops).
- To develop professional libraries for teachers.
- To encourage and provide facilities for research among participating colleges, to promote teacher–exchange programmes and advanced studies both locally and abroad.
- To coordinate activities and research projects in training centres.
- To hold conferences, conduct workshops, seminars, and organize study programmes.
- To encourage and promote dissemination of professional information.
- To act as an advisory body on educational matters.
- To maintain close professional contact with other institutes of education in Nigeria and elsewhere on matters of mutual educational interest.
- To publish a professional journal on research and developments in education.
- To sponsor and aid teacher training colleges, to conduct research on current problems and to be responsible for short courses of the refresher type in professional topics”.
