CEEO Nigeria-UN SDG4 Project

Teachers leaving the teaching profession to seek greener pasture in another sectors outside education owing to the way they are being treated by their employers and lack of respect for teachers by the society giving rise to teachers shortage. In 2015 UNESCO forecasted that by 2030 if drastic measures are not put in place countries in the Sub-Sahara Africa shall experience a shortage of 25.8 Millions teachers. The outbreak of COVID19 pandemic has made the UNESCO 2015 prediction a global problem. 

 “Teacher shortages are not just a developing world crisis but one being experienced around the world, including in countries like Australia, China, Estonia, France, Great Britain, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the United States and others”.

According to the Juniper Education in England and Wales Report: Teaching has had major retention issues for several years, driven by several reasons: workload, pay rates, and job satisfaction. Here is what the statistics are saying:

1.TEACHERS LEAVING THE PROFESSION

44% of England's state-school teachers plan to quit by 2027 according to a NEU poll.

2.TEACHERS NOT FEELING VALUED

A survey in the teacher well-being index cited that 60% of educators stated that not feeling valued is the main reason for considering leaving their jobs.

3.INCREASING NUMBER OF VACANT POSTS

According to a NEU poll, schools are struggling to fill vacant posts, leading to a doubling up of roles. 73% of teachers say this has worsened since the start of the pandemic.

Similarly, a report from International Teachers Task Force hosted by UNESCO during the 2022 World Teachers Day reveals that COVID-19 has been blamed for some of the shortfalls-with poor health or pandemic-related stress pushing teachers out of classrooms. Adding that COVID-19 was just the tipping point and has served to worsen shortages that were already starting to become a problem before the pandemic.

The report further asserts that teachers leaving the profession-teacher attrition is a major concern facing the profession with serious implications for learning. Quoting a Guardian article reports which corroborated with the Juniper Education in England and Wales that 44% of teachers in England plan to quit in the next five years (2027), with most blaming their heavy workload, while in New South Wales, Australia, a survey of 8,600 teachers found that more than half are planning to leave the profession in the next five years.

These reports are fact that our children shall sooner or later be ride off quality teachers with positive self-concept. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 is at risk with current teachers attrition.

Using CASProf+P technology since 2010 has been the most innovative initiative of our team to resolving the challenge of teachers attrition. To solve the problem of teachers attrition and promote teachers retention we are using motivational approaches which is incorporated in the CASProf+P technology. 

We initiated CASProf+P technology since 2010 to hunt for passionate teachers and make them to love teaching for life. This innovative technology is effective because it helps the teachers to understand how noble is the teaching profession. We use the technology to share inspirational experiences that boost teachers commitment and help the teachers to appreciate teaching as a noble profession. In 2015 when this technology was presented in a school, Bill Clinton College, Abuja, Nigeria with 120 teachers the result was quite admirable by the benefiting school; before it was presented over 95% of the teachers agreed that they do not love teaching. Surprisingly, about an hour after we deployed the technology more than 98% accepted to love teaching. By adopting both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation schools can retain great and passionate teachers in the classroom for life. We engaged the school managers to consider teachers as the most valuable asset in the school system and to use frequent reward system. By adopting teachers mentoring practices in the school more teachers can be retained in the schools. We equally promote "RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM" under the CASProf+P technology where positive relationship is created between the teachers and the learners and between teachers and parents. Awarding prizes to teachers is also another way the innovation works to retain teachers in the school system. Supporting teachers professionally is another way the technology works. The society is bound to change the way they look at teachers the moment teachers themselves changes their attitudes and characters in the profession. "The teacher is the key man on whom the future of children and mankind depends". 

There are policies that the technology is advancing to promote teachers  retention in the school system. The code is CASPROF+P Training (Where C stands for Characters, A stands for Attitudes, S stands for Skills, PROF stands for Professionalism and P stands for Passion. 

https://youtu.be/CR7PhjovT-4

We are working in the most critical sector-education. The four pillars of schooling (The School Management, the Teachers, The Learners and The Parents) according to CEEO Nigeria-UN SDG4 Project. The most critical of the four pillars is "TEACHERS" to build the society where everyone takes responsibility for the good of all requires effective and passionate teachers.

 Unfortunately, this pillar is weak, it is pulling out gradually out the schooling system due to numerous challenges. Teachers in Africa with a case study of Nigeria are greatly under-paid and maltreated by the School Management and the governments this is characterized with work-overload, lack of academic freedom, lack of rewards, poor salaries, epileptic salary payment, lack of retraining and no opportunity for professional development, etc. The two sectors that deal with issues affecting the teachers are the private and public sectors.

 Teachers are being considered in Nigeria by most private schools operators as machines most proprietors use to acquire financial wealth and wear-out without their own concern. This is demonstrated by under-paying teachers and giving them multiple works in the school for over eight hours in a day. An average teacher with Nigeria Certificate of Education (NCE) earns less than 20 USD monthly working for 160 hours, the highest at degree level is 65 USD. Many times they are not pay promptly and when there are salaries arrears of three months for example, the management only pays for the current month leaving the teacher to 'go to hell' even if other months are unpaid. In the public counterparts, the government sometimes owe teachers in the basic education for six months and would not care what happens. Teachers whose work are highly fundamental to Learning for Civic Action Challenge are highly marginalized in terms of pay and conditions of service in the Nigeria education sector from both private and public operators. The most sadden is the manner of parents to teachers, many parents seem to see the teachers as poor and one with low-self concept who do not deserve their respect or appreciation-reward.

 Our solutions shall remove the deadly slogan that "Teachers reward is in Heaven" from the black country to pave away for the emergence of EFFECTIVE TEACHERS in our classrooms whose responsibility is to develop the capacity of the young people for adequate participation in the global community. Teachers are no longer passionate about the job causing a lot of academic inadequacy among the learners resulting into illiteracy after schooling! Highly motivated staff are highly productive staff. The solution promotes training and engagement through policies formulation and implementation that help to put teachers welfare and remuneration as priority. By helping teacher boost their self-concept and be committed to the profession and supporting them through awards and prizes. Promoting and training teachers in responsive classroom to bring about positive relationship between the management and the teachers, teachers and learners and teachers and parents. Policy Advocacy, Training, Consultations, Prizes and Awards are key instruments in the solution they technology is providing. 

Our solutions came as a result of intensive study of the learning challenge in 2007. We further the solutions we have by incorporating an Centre for Educational Empowerment and Orientation (CEEO Nigeria) as a non-profit organization and sought collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and other relevant government agencies. We are experts in the solution delivery.

We are the best in Africa and Nigeria to deliver this solution since 2011 for the Middle-Belt States in Nigeria, West Africa. We have a closed relationship to understand the need of the our communities. Our findings are primarily from the beneficiaries not what we read online or papers. We currently engaged with four states out of the seven states in the Middle-Belt, Nigeria, West Africa. We have over 4,000 schools with not less than 50,000 classroom teachers. We have coordinators in each community and also we engaged directly with over 2,000 proprietors who through this solution shall change the narrative. Through engagement, design of questionnaires, conduct of assessment, brainstorming and physical meeting with the communities. We also have a group WhatsApp Platform for engaging with the communities. We created a platform for teachers tagged "GLOBAL GREAT TEACHER HUNT".  Our youtube, twitter and linkedi.in platforms are newly incorporated to give the teachers and other stakeholders places to watch our videos and other postcasts. We are also developing a CASProf+P application.

As a 100% educational organization committed to improving on what we do through learning, we are particularly interested in the support and advice from experts in policy that can give teachers a better recognition in the global community. We have a direct engagement with our beneficiaries and have built trust between them and the solution. We shall be interested in knowledge that would strengthen what we do and how to achieve our goals on or before 2030 when the governments would fully adopt our solutions. 

In addition, being part of the community of solvers can facilitate our monitoring, evaluation and training modules. We could leverage on the professional, technical advice and coaching that would come as a part of our acceptance into the Solver community on how to better measure and communicate impact. 

The exposure this solution and our team might receive as a part of the solver community will help support the reach of the podcast content created by the Centre for Educational Empowerment and Orientation (CEEO Nigeria) leader. Once they are available to stream online, we hope that educational stakeholders across Africa and the world can benefit from them. 

Most importantly, the financial resources involved with becoming a solver will help us pilot this solution and potentially prepare to allow the government take over the solution as a national policy to reposition teaching as a noble profession in the society.

The CASProf+P training modules we admit to teachers is highly efficacious. We have been using this since 2012. The rate of teachers retention is high with the use of the technology (CASProf+P). Teachers characters are reshaped, their attitudes to themselves, the job, the society are transformed, teachers learn new skills that help to help the learners overcome learning challenges. The teachers become more creative, innovative and imaginative with the impact of the training. Teachers become critical problems solvers in the classroom. The modules equally help teachers to appreciate teaching as a profession and that as teachers they must adhere to the code of conduct guiding teaching as a profession. Passion is another area of teachers skill learn in the training. Teachers who are passionate about the job tend to find solutions and develop professionalism. Passion is the key to result for the classroom teachers. The solutions drive to make passion as a key quality that is needed by a teacher in getting the teaching role in the school. We are driving a school that teachers do their job with passion and professionalism. "I saw teachers in Lafia North Development Area, Shabu doing teaching professionally after the four days CASPROF+P capacity building training workshop" said an Education Secretary in Nasarawa State, Middle-Belt, Nigeria, West Africa in 2017.

In 2019 we visited a school where I saw a young man as a principal of the school who was able to identify me as one of the facilitators of a on training  he attended in 2012 when he was still a school certificate holder. I was amazed; he categorically told me that it was the training that inspired him to go and study education. He was very grateful.

We equally admit series of training for the school managers and directors  to influence their perception of the teachers as a key person in the school system. The technology have improved the perception of school management about teachers' welfare in most schools participating in the project. There is a family bound culture in our community schools as a result of this solution. Now proprietors can send teachers to training without the fear of loosing them to another schools when they have better skills.

We trained the learners on how to learn by training a teacher in the school who ensure learners are trained on how to learn before any academic activity begins.

Parents are equally consulted by sharing with the PTA on their roles in the attainment of effective teaching and learning. The Dynamic Parent training is an innovation admitted to the parents to enlist their maximum cooperation with teachers to achieve a meaningful result in the classroom.  Most parents regretted of paying a passive role in their children education especially the father. 

The results from the communities are going to be replicated when the governments and other bodies coordinating the activity of the private schools in Nigeria adopt the solution through positive advocacy and lobbing. 

We set the pace for CASProf+P training in Africa.

Our short to long term impact goals for this solution are that: 

1. To train 20,000 to 100,000 classroom teachers on CASProf+P Modules, Phonic Drill and Mathematic in the next one to five years and achieve between 70% to 90% retention rate (That is beginning teachers can be in the school teaching for a period not less than five years in the private schools without leaving the school) through quality assurance processes, reward and prizes and policy implementation. 

2. To train 2,000 principals and headteachers on 'Professional School Leadership' in the next one year to five years. Many of these heads do not have skills in education administration and planning. The training aimed at helping them gain valuable school leadership skills.

4. To train over 2,000 school owners who are layman in the education to give priority to teachers as the key pillar of the school and be committed to paying teachers salaries as at when due. Many of these schools owners do not give teachers appointment letter and no job security plan with the next one year to five years. 

5. To train over 200,0000 students on how to learn in the next one to five years. We shall train teachers who shall assist us in admitting the training at the commencement of every academic session. Distribution of materials and prizes.

6. We shall distribute phonics instructional materials to over 150,000 pupils between the next one year to five years.

7. We shall empower more 10,000 parents and empower those without a reasonable means of livelihood between next one year and five years.

8. Our impact goals also is to bring in new writing board technology in 1,000 schools across the Middle-Belt States in Nigeria, West Africa.

Centre for Educational Empowerment and Orientation (CEEO Nigeria) has conducted the baseline 3Rs (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic) Proficiency Diagnostic Assessment Test for pupils in Basic 2 and Basic for private schools and Basic 3 and Basic 6 respectively. Since teachers are the key in the pillars and learners are what help us to know if a teacher is effective so the basic line test is to help the Monitoring and Evaluation to be riding on facts and reality when we understand what the situation is now before we start deploying the solution. We have also conducted pre-evaluation questionnaires to head of schools and teachers to know that the problem we are providing solution for truly exist.

1. The percentage of the new teachers retained in the private schools for a minimum of five years after the training for the teachers shall be compared with the baseline assessment.
2. The proprietors shall be giving training in many areas that help to retain teachers including good welfare, in-house training, salary increment, etc for the teachers. The baseline result shall be compared with the midline test and the exit-line test.
3. The percentage of schools where pupils have proficiency in basic 2 and 5 and basic 3 and 6 respectively shall be compared with the baseline assessment.
4. The percentage of passionate and committed teachers in the schools shall be compared with the baseline test using the impact form.
5. The effectiveness of the teachers shall be assessed using the pupils proficiency in the 3Rs, and the affective domain. How responsive is the classroom shall be measured using the impact form designed for this project.
6. Positive relationship between parents and teachers
7. Positive relationship between teachers and students

Please see the below link of our Solution's Theory of Change. We would be very happy to work with Solve community experts to continue to refine this.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi...

This solution will rely primarily on the use of Android phones and tablets, cloud zoom, youtube, twitter, linkedin, playstore app, whatsapp and overhead projector and screen, bulk SMS, radio and TV shows.

Most teachers and schools owners are currently not familiar with the use of Zoom, we shall train them on how to use this. The solution will promote massive use of the above technologies among the education stakeholders.

Centre for Educational Empowerment and Orientation (CEEO Nigeria) appreciate and welcome diversity and inclusiveness among our team. We are an organization that believes in equal opportunity for everyone.

The founder of the project is a Yoruba man from the South-West Nigeria, Married to a lady in the Middle-Belt 9 years after the project was initiated. We serve in the community where we do not understand the local dialect, We hire people who work with us irrespective of their culture, believe system especially when they have the skills we needed to work with the organization. Equally treatment and opportunity are giving to all sexes.

Centre for Educational Empowerment and Orientation (CEEO Nigeria) is non-profit, humanitarian and charitable 590 (c)(1) organization we do not make any revenue from our work. We have been self-sustained through the fee that our communities pay to access our services. We also rely on the support giving to us by the Board of Trustees of the organization.

We raise funds from campaigns, grants by submitting either solicited or unsolicited proposal. The founder is an author of books that he promote among the community to fund the organization.

Our business model automatically changed since Post COVID 19 era. The economic hardship inflicted upon the schools which is a major threat to the actualization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 prompts us to request a-one-time sign up from the community participating under this solution from 2022 to 2030. 

We are passionately committed to building the capacity of the four pillars of schools to bring about total eradication of illiteracy in our society under the global funds.

We work with schools which means we have management staff, teaching staff, learners and parents. We charge recoverable amount from beneficiaries once in the life time of the project. We sell books. We write proposals and submit to individuals and corporate organizations. Under this project we are working on a main proposal to be sent to the United Nations office and other global partners.

Besides this we own a publishing company that publishes books and sell to the learners and teachers. We also invest into Agriculture to sustain our work. 20% of the company profit annually is channel into the solution drive.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/880c...

Centre for Educational Empowerment and Orientation (CEEO Nigeria) is non-profit, humanitarian and charitable 590 (c)(1) started as a personal community development project of the founder, Davidcrown Oyebisi has been having good financial stand to remain focus in deploying the solution since 2007. From 2007 to 2017 more than 70 projects were carried out with fee from the community benefiting from the project including the US Ambassador Small Grant of 10,000 USD won in 2017 which was our first grant application. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo...In 2022 we were able to deploy this solution in a more broader ways through the fee paid by our communities. Our work has been greatly sustained with our model of business and with our current network of partners and the company many more are to be achieved.