Steer Initiative: 2021 in Print
It has been three months since Steer Initiative launched its Teachers Training Program to help empower teachers to improve the quality of education they deliver in the classroom. The Teachers Training Program is designed to bridge the knowledge gap of teachers in using digital teaching and learning tools, leveraging technology for class activities and applying interpersonal and management skills to classroom management.
Since its launch, Steer’s teachers’ community has grown to 120 member teachers and over 30 teachers have benefitted from sessions on different topics including the use of Google Classroom and Workplace tool, vision board creation for teachers. To deliver the training sessions, the organisation worked with thought-leaders in the education and technology industry.
While the organisation takes pride in the success and impacts of its digital tools for education efforts, it has equally recognized the need for complementary intervention beyond promoting the quality of education to increasing access to it. In its findings, from both primary and secondary data, the country has a significantly high number of out-of-school children which has further increased with the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreso, most of these out-of-school children are girls. According to Africa Check, an estimated 10.5 million children (ages 5 to 16) in Nigeria are out of school, 90% of whom are in northern Nigeria and 7.4 million of whom are girls.
This continues to have a rippled negative impact on different areas in the society. For instance, educationally disempowered girls are more likely to be forced into marriages, used as loan collateral, experience maternal disrespect and ill-care. The value of girl child education transcends beyond just learning to read and write to economic independence, social independence to challenge violence against women, and contributing to the economic prosperity of the society. For instance, According to Save the Children, educating girls can increase income, help reduce poverty and reduce the risk of child marriage by 64%.
Informed by this premise, the organisation launched the Keep Girls in School (KGS) scholarship program to provide full funding for secondary school girls who are at risk of dropping out of school. Beneficiaries will be selected from both private and government-owned schools after a series of verification processes.
In preparation for the new year, Steer Initiative plans to strengthen its teachers community by organising more training sessions and increasing its partnership with education-focused organisations such as Inter Alia Deus Cautela Limited, TeachATho Edtech Network. Through partnerships, the organisation hopes to reach and empower more teachers. Steer has planned over 10 training sessions in 2022 and they will be held every first Friday of the month, between the hours of 3 to 4 PM GMT+1. The sessions will cover critical classroom management topics such as the use of blended learning in the classroom, productivity hacks for teachers, the use of Google Earth, and how to integrate technology in the classroom etc.
Important information on the training and other activities of the organisation will be continually updated on its website, medium page and social media platform which can be accessed through the links below.
About Steer Initiative
Steer is a continent-wide initiative actively identifying marginalized communities and providing them with tailored solutions through collaboration, volunteerism, and participatory partnerships. The initiative focuses on steering access to education, digital training for teachers, skills acquisition for girls, women and young people, and social outreaches to address community challenges and support disaster reliefs. Steer leverages the support of like-minded individuals and civil society organizations who want to stand up for, reach, and empower communities to strengthen societal engagement, to drive equality and social change.
Written by Olufunmilayo Obadofin, Project Manager, Steer Initiative.
Contact us: info@steerinitiative.org Initiativesteer1@gmail.com
