IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TRAINING WORKSHOPS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS IN BAUCHI METROPOLIS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1         Background to the Study

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that were established following the millennium summit of the United Nations in 2000; which was consequently adopted as the United Nations‟ Millennium Declaration (United Nations, 2003). In the summit, 189 United Nations member states and at least 23 International Organizations declared commitment to help achieve the following Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the year 2015 which is to:

1. eradicate extreme poverty and hunger,

• achieve universal primary education,

• promote gender equality and empower women,

• reduce child mortality,

• improve maternal health,

• combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases,

• ensure environmental sustainability, and

• develop a global partnership for development.

Precisely, to achieve the objective for which they were employed, it become

pertinent that effective teaching can be enhanced by the MDGs through (NTI) training and retraining workshops for teachers in Nigeria. Sharehu (2009) stated that the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) as part of its commitment to improve the quality of teaching and learning at the primary school level, implemented a nationwide capacity building programme for primary school teachers under the MDG project. This is because the MDGs goal of Education For All (EFA) would be meaningless if the children cannot have access to quality education. Consequently, to enhance quality education and to achieve equal access to education, retraining of teachers become paramount.

The major inspiration for undertaking the research is to examine ineffective teaching of English Language in our schools, especially in Bauchi metropolis, a situation which has led to the high rate of failure in English Language as well as the inability of the pupils to utilize the language competently. Moreover, the teaching of English language as the official language of Nigeria and equally the medium of instruction in schools is critical to the advancement of the learners. This is because the learners are expected to communicate either orally or by writing via the English language. Again, being a second language, speakers need to be well-groomed in the language. This can only be done if the teachers are adequately trained and retrained.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TRAINING WORKSHOPS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS IN BAUCHI METROPOLIS