ENUGU — THE National Mathematical Centre, NMC, and the Universal Basic Education, UBE, have donated instructional materials to the Enugu State Primary Education Board, SPEB, as part of efforts to improve the teaching skills and competencies of teachers and thereby improve the performance of pupils in schools.
The materials, which included mathematical teaching modules and workbooks meant for 10 World Bank Action Research Schools PEP II in Enugu North Local Government Area, were presented to SPEB during a one-day training workshop organised by the National Mathematical Centre in collaboration with the World/UBE on the usage of the Mathematics Teaching Modules in Enugu.
Receiving the materials, Executive Chairman of SPEB, Mrs. Angela Mgboh, extolled the Mathematical Centre and UBE for donating the books, saying availability of teachers and good teaching materials were prerequisites for promoting the teaching and learning of mathematics in Nigerian schools, adding that the mass production of these publications would ensure uniformity in the teaching of mathematics at primary and secondary institutions in the country.
The SPEB Chairman, who was represented by the Head of Department, School Services Monitoring and Evaluation, Mrs. Victoria Nnaji called on all stakeholders to support the mass production of the modules and workbooks for distribution nationwide so as to stimulate enthusiasm in young students and scholars in the study of mathematics being the basic science whose thorough knowledge is fundamental to the understanding of the other sciences.
Presenting the paper of the Director-General, NMC, Prof. Sam Ale, on the usage of the mathematics modules and workbooks developed by the centre, the Deputy Secretary to the Centre, Mr. Clement Adeyemo, explained that in line with one of its mandate, the centre is working with determination towards ensuring its effective functioning and development to be able to implement strategies and devices for the improvement of the teaching and learning of the mathematical sciences at all levels.
Prof. Ale further disclosed that one of the strategies adopted by the centre to achieve its mandate was the production of the innovative teaching modules for teachers and workbooks for students/pupils, stressing that the NMC teaching modules were designed to address the problems of what to teach and how to teach mathematics effectively in schools because many school teachers teaching mathematics "are not professionally trained and lack the necessary experience to teach well."
The workbooks and the activities, he further said, were designed to ensure active participation of the learners in the learning process and to improve their problem-solving skills as well as encourage the generation of interaction among pupils’ discovery of mathematical concepts and formulae.
In his brief to the school teachers, Dr. Audu Ishaya, Research Fellow, NMC, discussed some learning strategies employed in the design of the modules, the structure and the use of the teaching modules and the pupils’ workbooks in the classroom. He stressed the need for the teachers to ensure adequate interaction with pupils’ and adequate examples and exercises are given to pupils from the workbooks as class work or homework and check for corrections from each child.
Speaking on behalf of the head teachers of the pilot schools, Comrade Ezeodili Emeka, Head Teacher, O’Connor Street Primary School I and Chairman Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, acknowledged that the big challenge to teachers had always been the worry that when the learner has not learnt then the teacher has not taught. She expressed delight that the NMC had not only recognised the fact that the teaching modules and pupils workbooks would be of tremendous assistance to teachers and pupils, but would hopefully help remove all defects in the method of teaching by teachers in the school system.
