Dr Shamsideen Allison, Permanent Secretary, Office of the Special Adviser to Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Education, has said that the “ReadySetWork” (RSW) scheme in colleges of education will improve teachers’ quality in the state.

Allison made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

The RSW is an initiative of the Lagos State Ministry of Education, facilitated by the Office of the Special Adviser on Education, Lagos State.

According to the permanent secretary, the teachers’ training track of the RSW was introduced to cater for the needs of passionate teachers in colleges of education in the state.

“Lagos State pays maximum attention to its colleges of education. That was why we had to introduce what will be relevant to their own programmes.

“There are modern techniques of teaching in the world now, and we are in the digital age.

“We need to bring our students up- to- date with these innovative ways of teaching, as this will help improve the quality of teachers we have,” the official said.

Allison urged other states to emulate the RSW initiative, to reduce the level of unemployment in the nation.

“We hope that other states will emulate Lagos State because it is only here that programmes like this have been implemented on a large scale.

“From the stages of screening for students to the various volunteers that will facilitate this training, it is evident that the Lagos State Government has put in a lot of work,” he said.

The 13-week RSW training, after which successful graduates would be placed on paid internship in various companies, will begin on July 7.

Allison said it was the vision of the state government to impart entrepreneurial skills in graduates of all institutions of higher learning in the state.

“We want all students from every higher institution in Lagos State to graduate with the skills needed for the work.

“Private institutions are not excluded; we want to bring everyone on board, and we require the maximum cooperation from every institution in the state,” Allison said.

According to the state government, the RSW is aimed at equipping students with employability and entrepreneurship skills needed after graduation.

No fewer than 25,000 students from eight institutions are participating in the training this year, as opposed to last year’s 12,000.

The participating institutions include Lagos State College of Health Technology, Lagos State Polytechnic, Yaba College of Technology and University of Lagos.

Others are Lagos State University, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Michael Otedola College of Primary Education and the Caleb University, Imota. (NAN)

– Apr. 17, 2018 @ 14:27 GMT