Gafar Alabi,

The Chairman of the Ogun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Evang. Olalekan Ifede, has said that teachers who undergo phonics training will be deployed to handle foundation classes, from Kindergarten 1 to Primary 2, in Public Primary Schools across the State.

Ifede, disclosed this while declaring open a 2-day Capacity Development Programme on Phonics Masterclass Workshop for teachers in Public Primary Schools across the State, with the theme: ‘Empowering Teachers with Effective Phonics Strategies for Improved Literacy Outcomes,’ at Imo Methodist Primary School, Oke-Yeke, Abeokuta.

The SUBEB Chairman said, effective implementation of phonics strategies would significantly improve pupils’ reading abilities, stressing that pupils should be able to read proficiently by the time they get promoted to Primary 3, if teachers properly apply the techniques.

He charged the participants to pay rapt attention throughout the training and ensure that the knowledge acquired was put into practice to make teaching and learning more effective and impactful in public schools, urging them to cascade the knowledge gained to other teachers in their respective schools, expressing the expectation that the training would translate into improved learning outcomes.

Ifede, said the State government had invested heavily in basic education, particularly in teachers’ training and the provision of infrastructure. He urged headteachers and teachers to reciprocate the gesture by maintaining a neat and presentable appearance whenever they attend school, stressing that their appearance should reflect the professionalism expected of educators.

Also speaking, Permanent Member IV of the Board, Rt. Hon. Akeem Balogun, urged the participants to ensure that the training was interactive with the overriding purpose of returning back to their schools better equipped.

The first resource person and Proprietress of Frontliners Kiddies Nursery and Primary School, Ilishan-Remo, Mrs. Bamidele Ifede, defined phonics as a method of teaching learners to read by helping them understand the relationship between letters and the sounds they represented. She emphasised the importance of grouping pupils according to their abilities, urging teachers to ensure that every group recorded continuous improvement in learning.

She further highlighted the importance of tracing, drawing and painting activities for kindergarten learners, while stressing the need for teachers to teach the correct pronunciation of letter sounds.

The resource person also took participants through the fundamentals of phonics, including; pronunciation, sound and letter identification, blending consonants and vowels, proper letter formation and techniques for developing learners’ ability to read independently.

The second resource person, Mrs. Toyin Odusote, a lecturer at Sikiru Adetona College of Education, Omu-Ijebu, taught participants on various handwriting methods and patterns, with particular emphasis on the correct formation of upper- and lower-case letters using two-dimensional exercise books.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Mrs. Oluwakemi Otemoye of Wesley Primary School, Ode-Remo, in Remo North and Mr. Adisa Adeola of Ipokia Local Government Primary School, Igbodoroju, appreciated the Board for organising the training, promising to apply the knowledge they had acquired in their respective classrooms.