The third iteration of Seplat Energy Plc’s Seplat Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP), which would empower 300 teachers from Edo and Delta States, has begun in Benin City, Edo State.
The STEP initiative, which was introduced in 2022, aims to encourage teachers’ original thought, enable greater student participation, and provide program participants with a well-rounded education. The initiative gives instructors the tools they need to conduct high-quality instruction in the host states of Edo and Delta State for Seplat Energy.
A four-day residential workshop that included leadership and self-improvement training as well as an introduction to Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) was held prior to the formal start of this year’s edition.
300 teachers from both states were chosen to participate in the four-day residential program out of the 905 instructors who took the online qualifying exam this year. The three more months of the program, which was a big success, will be conducted online.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Chioma Nwachuku, director of external affairs and sustainability at Seplat Energy, was represented by Joseph Ofili, manager of business relations, who said that Seplat Energy had decided to launch this initiative in collaboration with its joint venture partners, the ministries of education and science and technology, in order to empower teachers and improve the educational experience for students who will be the future leaders.
“The initiative is designed to foster creative thinking; problem solving abilities; teacher – student engagement and produce well rounded educated students” she said, adding that this year’s edition features the empowerment of 300 teachers from 90 qualifying schools across Edo and Delta States as well as Chief Inspectors of Education in the states and key personnel of the ministry of education to ensure an impactful delivery of the programme.
She added that the participants were divided 75% into the public sector and 25% into the commercial sector and said that everyone had been given electronic devices and internet access so they could continue the online training for the following three months.
Dr. Nwachuku stated that Seplat Energy’s joint venture partner, Nigerian Exploration and Production Ltd. (NEPL), formerly known as Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Ltd., as well as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, were all instrumental in the program’s success.
The Edo State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Joan Osa Oviawe, responded to the opening remarks by praising Seplat Energy for the STEP Initiative, which she described as a transformative training program. She also praised the high caliber and dependability of the courses being provided and asked the teachers to impart what they had learned from the program to their coworkers who couldn’t participate. She also exhorted the teachers to make sure their institutions and pupils profit from the new information gained through the STEP project.
Mrs. Oviawe listed a few of the STEP Initiative’s immediate benefits, saying that the commission will use the beneficiaries as Master Trainers to guide the creation of the “Edo Best 2.0” education reform program’s planned digital learning training program for teachers in the Edo State.
