Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday expressed satisfaction at the performance of teachers undergoing a two-week training as part of the preparations to commence the KwaraLEARN basic education project in the state.

Another flagship education programme of the administration, KwaraLEARN (Leading Education Achievement and Reform Now) is designed to deliver dramatic improvements in learning outcomes in public schools for all children across Kwara State. It will transform all government primary schools across the state into powerful public schools using an innovative technology and data-driven platform, high-quality learning materials, effective training and ongoing coaching for teachers and school leaders, and technology-enabled support teams to create 360-degree support for learning outcomes.

The pilot phase of the programme captures basic schools in Baruten, Offa, Ilorin West, and Ilorin East – while other local governments will follow in the coming year.

Speaking in Ilorin at the venue of the training for teachers, Abdulrazaq said the programme would drastically improve the capacity of teachers, encourage transparency in the school environment, and improve quality of public education and learning outcomes.

"I congratulate you all because the process you are going through will be of benefit to all of us in the state, in Nigeria and to humanity. The knowledge to be imparted will improve our society," he said.

AbdulRazaq, who acknowledged the important roles that teachers play in shaping the future of any nation, said his administration will consider more incentives to boost their morale in schools.

"For me, I respect all of you for what you do. They say the teachers' reward is in heaven. We also need to take care of you while alive. The state government, as much as possible, will try to look into your welfare. It is important because your livelihood solely depends on teaching. You don't joke with your salary. That is why we made the #30,000 minimum wage for workers our priority,” he added.

The Governor also visited Kwara students – who recently emerged as Nigerian champions in the Presidential debate -- in their training camp ahead of the world schools debate in the Netherlands in August.

Chairman Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Prof. Raheem Sheu Adaramaja, for his part, said the training is in phases, starting from two local governments of Ilorin West and Baruten, with the selected head teachers and classroom teachers as participants under the first phase.

He said the technology-based training will teach them how to use smart phones and tablets to monitor attendance, assess pupils, grade and transmit their results to their parents after school exams.

"From the tablet you give everyone of them, they will be able to take class attendance of pupils, do assessment, grade them and transmit their results to their parents, rather than relying on the old PPT (Paper Pen Test) to achieve assessment of pupils," Adaramaja said.

"This is part of the innovative technology that Your Excellency has introduced to basic education in Kwara State. Your Excellency, history will never forget you."

Adarmaja also said the Board had engaged the services of experts, particularly native speakers of English language, in equipping the pupils ahead of the international debate competition.

Mrs. Margaret Olufunke Awotunde, SUBEB Training officer, said at least 1,920 participants from four local governments (Ilorin West, East, Offa and Baruten) are expected to attend the ongoing phase of the training.

Some of the teachers who spoke on the training commended the state government for the initiative, which they believed would lessen their task of writing through paper and pen and conform to 21st century realities.