Politics
THE International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), in partnership with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has began a three-day training of trainers (ToT) programme for colleges of education teachers in the South-West.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was aimed infusing trafficking in person issue into the minimum standard for the Nigeria Certificate of Education (NCE) curriculum.
Speaking at the opening of the programme on Tuesday in Abeokuta, a former Minister of Education, Prof. Chinwe Obaji, lamented the high rate of trafficking in persons as it affected the country.
Obaji, who is a Consultant to ICMPD, contended that thousands of people were being trafficked daily in Nigeria.
According to her, the centre has come into the conclusion that the best way to curb the menace is through education, hence the need to train the teachers, in partnership with NAPTIP.
“We are here because of a very serious matter: trafficking in persons. It is a global issue, but unfortunately for us, Nigerians are also being trafficked.
“Most of the people being trafficked usually have their organs arrested, and for the girls, they become sex objects to people who are not their choice.
“But luckily for us in Nigeria, the ICMPD, which is funded by the EU and has Nigerians working there, felt worried about the issues of trafficking in persons and they also felt that the best way to curb the menace is through education; so they worked with NAPTIP,” she said.
Mrs Mojisola Sodeinde, Senior Project Manager, ICPMD West Africa Office, said that the programme was borne out of the European Union’s support to free movement of persons and migration in West Africa.
Sodeinde said that some of the projects they were implementing were to respond to the emerging needs of member-states of ECOWAS.
She noted that too many Nigerian children were being trapped in the trafficking issue along the West African coast.
“One of these emerging needs is this request that we got from NAPTIP, that we should help to develop a curriculum to be used in our schools to raise awareness on human trafficking.
“So it is within that context that we worked with NAPTIP to develop these materials so that we can train teachers; so that they can raise awareness in their schools,” Sodeinde said.
Dr Mchviga Abelega, Acting Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), noted that they had been collaborating with the centre to mainstream teaching trafficking in person issues into their curriculum.
According to him, they are in the process of training teachers so as to help them in implementing what has been laid down for them.
He said that the development could not have come at a better time than when they are on the verge of reviewing their curriculum, adding that the curriculum will take effect in November for the 2019/2020 academic session.
Abelega disclosed that no fewer than 178 teachers: 21 from federal-owned colleges of education, 48 from state-owned and the remaining from private colleges of education, were being trained.
“Basically, we’ve been having these collaborations with the ICMPD.
“We were in the process of reviewing our NCE minimum standard; so we agreed to incorporate it into our minimum standard and we are in the process of training teachers so that they will implement what is already laid down for them.
“We are training the staffers of all the colleges of education in the country; we have 178 of them, 21 federal, 48 state and the remaining from private colleges. In addition to the private colleges of education, we also have other agencies that run teacher education at NCE level,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 74 participants were trained in Abeokuta, as part of the South-West programme. (NAN)
– Nov. 26, 2019 @ 17:19 GMT |
Tags: ICPMD NAPTIP train NCE teachers in S/West on human trafficking
