By Adeyinka Adeniran
Worried by the spate of declining moral standard among learners in basic schools in the country, the Federal Government through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) on Monday began the implementation of the moral regeneration and reorientation in the UBE programme.
The implementation kickstarted with the master trainers workshop intended to empower facilitators who will train teachers in order to actualize the objectives of the UBE moral reorientation programme.
Participants for the training were pulled from the 17 Southern states as well as Kogi and Kwara states.
Flagging off the training at Koltotel Hotel, Ikolaba, Ibadan, the Executive Secretary, UBEC, Dr Hamid Bobboyi lamented that the nation is greatly challenged with moral degeneration with value system upturned and vices which were not exhibited in times past now rampant in the society.
Particularly, he said terrorism, cultism, rape and high spate of violence are now being witnessed with the rising tide of the moral challenges in the society making its way into schools and carrying with it anti-social behaviors such as cultism, drug abuse, gender-based violence to sexual abuse, and bullying.
Represented by the Acting Director, UBEC, Southwest zone, Mr Alabi Asaju, the UBEC boss noted that the menaces are negatively impacting learning outcomes and hindering learners from reaching their full potentials, adding that the indulgence of the young learners in those harmful behaviors portend danger to their future, the society, and the country at large.
He disclosed that the Commission, conducted an exploratory survey to determine the level of moral decadence in basic education schools in Nigeria. He noted that the findings of the survey led to the development of a comprehensive Moral Regeneration and Reorientation Programme, focusing on training teachers to integrate moral education into their instruction, school activities, and psychosocial guidance to mitigate the menace to the barest level.
He said “As you are all aware, the rising tide of the moral challenges in our society has made its way into our schools also carrying with it anti-social behaviors such as cultism, drug abuse, gender-based violence to sexual abuse, and bullying.
“These menaces are negatively impacting learning outcomes and hindering learners from reaching their full potentials. The indulgence of the young learners in those harmful behaviors portend danger to their future, the society, and the country at large.
“Concerned about the prevalence of moral ordeals especially in basic education schools, the Commission conducted an exploratory survey to determine the level of moral decadence in basic education schools in Nigeria.
“The findings of the survey led to the development of a comprehensive Moral Regeneration and Reorientation Programme, focusing on training teachers to integrate moral education into their instruction, school activities, and psychosocial guidance to mitigate the menace to the barest level.
“The Moral Regeneration and Reorientation Initiative is designed to ignite a flame of moral compass within the basic education landscape and stem the descent to the dark abyss.
“The initiative is to help learners cultivate the essential character traits and decision-making acumen they need to blossom into responsible and impactful citizens. The programme also strives to empower teachers and education managers with the tools and strategies to effectively guide young minds towards a foundation of strong moral character.”
He said the manual and handbook on Moral Regeneration and Reorientation are ready to be used to train selected Master Trainers from public and private basic education schools who will subsequently cascade the training down to other teachers across the 36 states and the FCT.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the Director, Teacher Development, Mr Olumayowa Aleshin pleaded with trainees to take the responsibility with utmost commitment especially because the effective cascading of the skills and knowledge to the teachers rests on them.
“As we envision the impact of this initiative, we hope to see classrooms where young learners are taught important values and principles that will guide their lives as they grow into responsible adults”, he added.
