In a bid to improve the standard of public education and strengthen school monitoring across Plateau State, Girls Education Mission (GEM) International, in partnership with the Plateau State Universal Basic Education Board (PSUBEB), the TY Danjuma Foundation and American Spaces Jos/University of Jos, organised a three-day capacity-building workshop for head teachers and quality assurance officers, writes PALANG KASMI
Girls Education Mission (GEM) International, in partnership with PSUBEB and the TY Danjuma Foundation, conducted a three-day training for Plateau State head teachers and quality assurance officers to enhance school monitoring and improve education quality.
The workshop, held in May 2026, aimed to equip public school leaders with modern strategies to compete with private sector standards and create more effective learning environments.
Other beneficiaries of the training organised by Girls Education Mission (GEM) International in partnership with the Plateau State Universal Basic Education Board (PSUBEB) and American Spaces Jos/University of Jos are Quality Assurance Officers.
The training workshop, which held from May 5-7, 2026, with the theme, ‘Enhancing Access to Quality Education for Lifelong Learning (QELL)’, was funded by the TY Danjuma Foundation.
It is a GEM project designed to equip teachers from public schools across Plateau State with skills that would make them more effective in monitoring and promoting standard conducive learning environments for pupils.
Intentional workshop to change the narrative
Declaring the training workshop open, the Executive Chairman of PSUBEB, Sunday Amuna, disclosed that the training and knowledge gained were things money could not buy.
Urging the participants to think outside the box, Amuna disclosed that the training was an intensive and intentional workshop aimed at changing the narrative in Plateau State’s primary education sector.
He challenged head teachers to make personal efforts to develop themselves and build their capacities without waiting for formal trainings, adding that the board would generate points for head teachers who deliberately make sacrifices to improve their skills.
“As head teachers, you need to rise up and develop yourselves and your capacity without waiting for anybody to develop you or until workshops like this are organised,” he said.
He reminded them that as head teachers, they were not just heading schools but overseeing everything and everyone.
“You are fathers and mothers to the teachers and pupils, so you need to attain that level of professionalism,” he stressed.
Amuna said the trainees should not merely occupy positions as head teachers but should rise to the challenge and become impactful leaders.
“The workshop will bring you out as role models,” he added.
According to him, “It is not only about filling space as a head teacher but what are you doing differently to motivate pupils in your school? What legacy are you leaving behind after all the years of work and service as head teacher? What are you impacting on your fellow teachers and students and what are you leaving behind?”
“Think outside the box. This workshop should propel you to desire and resolve in your heart that you create impact in your schools,” he said.
Amuna also promised to pay surprise visits to schools to assess the impact of the training and observe unique initiatives introduced after the workshop.
He expressed optimism that the organisation’s commitment to the project would yield the desired results.
Benefits of the QELL teachers’ training
Speaking at the forum, Executive Director of GEM International, Keturah Shammah, said the teachers’ training project sponsored by the TY Danjuma Foundation had covered all the 17 local government areas of Plateau State to ensure teachers were properly equipped to carry out their duties.
“And this year, in 2026, we are training the trainers, who are head teachers and Quality Assurance Officers in Plateau State,” Shammah said.
According to her, the head teachers were trained on collaborative accountability and modern quality assurance strategies.
She explained that the essence of the project was to enhance access to quality education and equip teachers with skills that would enable them compete favourably with their counterparts in private schools.
Lamenting the huge gap between private and public schools, she attributed the challenge to poor monitoring and lack of commitment among some education professionals.
The Executive Director noted that public schools had more qualified teachers than private schools but still lagged behind due to poor supervision and monitoring systems.
“We have a facilitator that will take you on modern quality assurance strategies. Public schools have more qualified teachers than private schools, but private schools often deliver better quality education because of monitoring.
“In private schools, once the proprietor is there, everybody must sit up to his or her responsibility. As head teachers, you are there to supervise the teachers. You also have to be certified by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN),” she said.
Shammah explained that part of the collaboration with the TY Danjuma Foundation was to train head teachers on monitoring, teachers’ roles, code of conduct and strategies for enhancing quality education in public schools.
She maintained that while policies already existed to guide public school teachers, implementation remained a major challenge.
She appreciated the TY Danjuma Foundation for partnering with GEM International since 2019 and sponsoring the education of over 100 girls who were on the verge of dropping out of school.
According to her, some of the beneficiaries had successfully graduated from universities.
Shammah also praised American Spaces and PSUBEB for their sustained partnership and support towards improving education in Plateau State.
She urged participants to take advantage of the opportunities provided by American Spaces and fully engage in the intensive three-day training facilitated by experienced professionals.
Meeting global teaching standards
In her remarks, Director of American Spaces Jos/University of Jos, Prof. Katrina Korb, said American Spaces is an office of the United States that provided free learning and gathering spaces to promote both local and global programmes on a wide range of topics.
Giving statistics about the organisation’s operations, she disclosed that there were over 600 American Spaces in 150 countries around the world.
“In Nigeria, we have 30 American Spaces, while in some countries there are only four. The first American Space in Nigeria was created in Jos,” she explained.
Korb said the organisation offers several benefits to the public, including library resources, free Wi-Fi, online tools and devices, educational resources and free training programmes for teachers.
She advised teachers and stakeholders to nurture children properly so they could become useful to themselves and society.
Korb, who also served as a facilitator during the training, stated that poor quality education could harm children and negatively affect their future.
“So we need to be constantly improving and developing ourselves as educators so that we learn what quality practices will help that child to thrive,” she stated.
She tasked participants to develop action plans on what they would do differently after the training.
Investing in professionalism
The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the TY Danjuma Foundation, Mr. Tersoo Akula, said the foundation had consistently worked in Plateau State and funded the training of many teachers across Nigeria.
He appreciated the important role teachers played in families and society and encouraged both public and private school teachers to register with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) to eliminate unqualified teachers from the profession.
Akula described teachers as critical to national development.
“That is why the TY Foundation is passionate about teachers’ training and has invested significant resources to ensure teachers are trained to strengthen foundational education,” he said.
He described education as paramount, stressing that with knowledge, issues such as insecurity, religion and peaceful coexistence could be properly addressed.
Also speaking, Plateau State Coordinator of TRCN, Mr. Kabir Ibrahim, disclosed that the council was established by Act 33 of 2004 under the Federal Ministry of Education to regulate, supervise and monitor teaching education in Nigeria.
He explained that the council monitored who qualified to be a teacher and the credentials they possess.
While urging participants to maximise the opportunity provided by the training, Ibrahim also encouraged them to take advantage of the career path policy.
He stressed that the council existed to sanitise the teaching profession and enhance professionalism in the education sector.
Ibrahim further urged all teachers in the state to register with the TRCN, reminding them that the certification served not only as a national identity document but was also a major requirement for teaching overseas.
At the end of the training, participants gained practical knowledge and strategies needed to effectively carry out their responsibilities.
Resource persons engaged participants on issues such as record-keeping, attendance monitoring, accountability, collaboration, ethics and the code of conduct for educators.
Stakeholders at the forum expressed confidence that the participants would apply the knowledge gained to improve accountability and professionalism in schools across Plateau State.
They also emphasised the importance of upholding ethical standards, adhering to professional codes of conduct and carrying out educational responsibilities with diligence, dedication and professionalism.