Major Educational Training Event Draws Thousands of Educators to Kano
Kano State recently hosted a significant professional development event that attracted over 2,000 educators from across the region. The training program, organized by EDUFORGE, Africa's premier teacher capacity-building organization, took place on Saturday, February 7, 2026, marking the second installment in their ongoing series of educational initiatives.
Focus on Practical Teaching Methods Over Linguistic Elitism
The program was led by renowned education trainer and Lead Facilitator Phrank Shaibu, who emphasized that the training's primary objective was instructional accessibility rather than linguistic sophistication. "Today is not about speaking big English; it is about reaching every learner," Shaibu stated during the sessions, highlighting the practical approach that characterized the entire program.
Shaibu facilitated the training alongside a team of experienced educators including Godwin Adugba, Maria Oche, Jerry Tialobi, and Sifon Akpan. Their collective expertise and coordinated delivery ensured the sessions were both comprehensive and smoothly executed, providing valuable insights to all participants.
Universal Design for Learning Takes Center Stage
Central to the training was the framework of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which challenges educators to design lessons that accommodate diverse learning needs. Shaibu explained this concept using a powerful analogy: "If only motorcycles could pass on a road, the road has failed. A good road allows okada, keke, cars, buses, and trailers to move safely. That is what UDL demands of teaching."
This framework encourages educators to create learning environments that serve students with varying abilities, learning speeds, and confidence levels, ensuring that no learner is left behind due to instructional design limitations.
Hands-On Learning and Language Refinement
Participants actively engaged in the training through discussions, responses to live classroom scenarios, and hands-on demonstrations. One particularly impactful segment examined how everyday classroom language can unintentionally exclude certain learners.
Using humor-filled but precise examples drawn from common Nigerian English usage, teachers explored how small adjustments in wording, instruction delivery, and feedback mechanisms can significantly broaden student participation and boost confidence. This approach reframed teaching as a deliberate design process where language plays a critical role in educational equity and access.
Official Representation and Broader Educational Context
The Kano State Commissioner for Education was officially represented at the event by the Director of Schools, Sagir Umar Danbare, underscoring the government's support for such professional development initiatives.
This training comes at a crucial time for Nigeria's educational sector. Recent reports indicate that over 4,000 teachers failed the May 2025 Professional Qualifying Examination conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, with digital literacy gaps identified as a major contributing factor. Meanwhile, the Borno state government has allocated N1 billion for teacher training programs, highlighting growing recognition of the need for educator development across northern states.
The EDUFORGE training in Kano represents a significant step toward addressing these challenges by providing practical, inclusive teaching strategies that can be immediately implemented in classrooms throughout the region.
