The NNPC/Seplat joint venture has trained 127 teachers and education evaluators in digital teaching techniques and alternative income-generation skills.
The beneficiaries were trained under the Seplat Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP), with the first cohort in Imo State graduating in Owerri.
Chioma Afe, Seplat’s Director of External Affairs and Social Performance, disclosed this at the graduation ceremony on Sunday.
Afe, who was represented by Esther Icha, General Manager, Corporate Social Investment and Social Performance, said the programme was designed to strengthen teachers’ professional development while improving their capacity to generate additional income.
She said the initiative reflected the joint venture’s belief that empowering teachers could create lasting impact in communities.
“Take the digital skills you have acquired into your classrooms, share your knowledge with fellow teachers, encourage your students to learn, explore and innovate,” Afe told the beneficiaries.
She said STEP had previously been implemented in Edo and Delta states, where more than 2,000 teachers had been trained, adding that the Imo edition was the programme’s first intervention in the state.
Afe urged the graduating teachers to regard their certificates as the beginning of greater responsibility and leadership in their communities.
She said the success of the programme would ultimately be measured by the students inspired, colleagues supported and communities influenced by the beneficiaries.
Also speaking, Olanrewaju Igandan, Chief Upstream Investment Officer, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), described teachers as critical channels for transferring knowledge to younger generations.
Igandan, who was represented by Chizoba Onyike, Subsurface Operations Adviser, NUIMS, thanked stakeholders for contributing to the success of the programme and wished the beneficiaries success in their careers.
The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, represented by Bertram Ikegwuoha, Commissioner for Education, urged the beneficiaries to use the skills acquired to positively influence their students.
Uzodinma thanked Seplat and NNPC for the initiative and encouraged the teachers to uphold the programme’s motto, “Teach. Inspire. Transform.”
