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Retreat
COMMUNIQUÉ
OF THE MAIDEN RETREAT ON SERVICE DELIVERY FOR MANAGEMENT, SENIOR
STAFF AND FIELD OFFICERS, HELD AT ZARANDA HOTEL, BAUCHI 6TH
– 9TH MARCH, 2005
1.0
PREAMBLE
1.1 In response to the
Federal Government’s directive that all public agencies must
draw up and publicize their Service Charters, and to vigorously
pursue more than ever before its vision of enhancing the
professional skills of teachers for quality education delivery
at the primary and secondary education levels; the National
Teachers’ Institute, Kaduna organized its maiden retreat on
Service Delivery for Management, Senior Staff and Field
Officers, at Zaranda Hotel, Bauchi from 6th – 9th
March, 2005.
1.2 The objectives of the
Retreat were to:
i)
critically
examine the quality of service currently being delivered by NTI;
ii)
review their mode
of delivery and identify strategies for improvement;
iii)
sensitize staff
on Government Reform process and its implications for the
Institute; and
iv)
sensitize staff
on the need to meet public expectations;
v)
re-orient NTI
Staff towards effective and efficient performance;
vi)
identify
strategies for conducting effective advocacy for NTI programmes
and Open & Distance Learning in Nigeria;
vii)
review NTI
Service Delivery Charter.
1.3
The Retreat which
was declared open by His Excellency, Alh. Ahmadu Adamu Muazu,
the Executive Governor of
Bauchi State, was chaired by
the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education,
represented by Mr. Olu Ilesanmi, Director, Planning, Research
and Statistics, Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja.
1.4
Other dignitaries
at the ceremony included the Bauchi State Executive Council
members, representative of the Economic Adviser to Mr. President
and Chief Executive Officer, National Planning Commission, the
representative of the Special Assistant to Mr. President on
Strategy & Coordinator, SERVICOM, and the Vice Chancellor,
Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa University, Bauchi.
1.5
In his Welcome
Address, the Director & Chief Executive, National Teachers’
Institute, Kaduna, stated that the Retreat was convened not only
in response to Government’s directive that all public agencies
should develop and publicize their Service Delivery Charter in
line with the on-going Federal Government Reforms, but that the
Retreat would offer the Institute the opportunity to reflect on
its activities with a view to consolidating the areas of gain
and, a total review of others, where necessary. He said that the
ultimate goal of the Institute was to improve its services to
meet public expectation and also contribute towards the
upliftment of the quality of education in the country.
He expressed his appreciation to the
Government and people of Bauchi
State over the immense support the Institute has been receiving on its
operations in the State.
1.6
The Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, whose address was
delivered by Mr. Olu Ilesanmi, Director, Planning Research and
Statistics of the Ministry, commended the Institute for taking
the initiative of organizing a retreat at this auspicious time
that all arms of government were being called upon to do more
for their customers and ensure that they got value for money. He
reminded the participants that a Service Charter represents a
set of promises that customers could expect quality service
delivery as of right.
1.7
His Excellency,
the Executive Governor of Bauchi
State, Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Muazu, while declaring the Retreat open, described
the exercise as timely as the Federal and State Governments had
embarked on evolving new social, economic and political reforms.
He said that it was in response to the awareness of the
important role of education in the development process that he
was sparing no effort in improving the quality of education in
his state. He assured that all unqualified teachers in the state
would be directed to enroll in the NTI programmes. He then
directed the State Ministry of Education to liaise with NTI to
specifically embark on the training, retraining of all teachers
in Bauchi
State on an annual basis.
1.8
Presentations by
the National Planning Commission and the Office coordinating
SERVICOM focused on the National Economic Empowerment and
Development Strategy (NEEDS) and the Role of SERVICOM in the
Federal Government reform process respectively.
The Retreat took other
presentations and deliberated on the following:
Þ
Examinations and
record keeping;
Þ
Quality Assurance
in the Institute’s Distance Learning programmes;
Þ
Field Operations,
programme delivery and management;
Þ
Financial
Guidelines, revenue generation and remittances
Þ
Learner support
system, and
Þ
Human resource
development and NTI-Stakeholders’ relationship.
2.0
OBSERVATIONS
2.1 Arising from these
deliberations, the participants expressed satisfaction with the
progress recorded so far by the Institute in the training,
upgrading and the general professional development of teachers
in Nigeria. It noted the
commitment of the Management and the entire staff of the
Institute to provide quality service to the Nigerian public and
observed that:
i)
public perception
of distance learning in Nigeria is yet to come to terms with
reality of the fact that Open and Distance Learning can deliver
education services that are comparable to those of conventional
institutions;
ii)
the Institute’s
course materials are among the best educational materials
available in the local market and are being used extensively in
tertiary institutions;
iii)
the Institute to
date has an unsurpassed record in terms of the integrity of its
publicly conducted examinations;
iv)
the Institute is
one of the few public agencies that have exposed themselves to
public scrutiny all in the effort to assure quality in their
programmes;
v)
the cost of the
Institute’s programmes has remained low in order to make them
affordable to the Nigerian teachers;
vi)
the opportunities
offered staff for self improvement through the Institute’s staff
development scheme is encouraging;
vii)
the efforts of
Management to improve its operational efficiency and
effectiveness through the acquisition and installation of ICT
infrastructure well directed and timely;
viii)
the Institute’s
Service Delivery Charter is a realistic document that represents
its compact with its clientele and that the set targets in the
Charter are achievable; and
ix)
the Retreat is a
useful and effective forum for the Institute to engage in
stock-taking and review of its operations.
3.0
RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1 Arising from these
observations, the participants recommended among others that
i)
the Institute
should engage in vigorous advocacy and publicity that will
enlighten the public on the viability of Open and Distance
Learning in the delivery of quality education;
ii)
the Institute
should establish and strengthen existing partnership with local
and international agencies with a view to sharing experience and
seeking support for the improvement of its programmes;
iii)
the Nigerian
communities should be mobilized through Zonal and State Office
activities to support the Study Centres and cooperate in
eradicating the evils of examination malpractice; and
iv)
the Institute
should as a matter of urgency develop a training scheme on the
use of computer to enable staff take maximum advantage of the
installed ICT infrastructure.
4.0 RESOLUTIONS
4.1 The participants
resolved:
i) to rededicate
themselves to duty towards the attainment of the Institute’s
goal of producing qualified and competent teachers for the
country
ii)
to provide
exemplary leadership in their respective offices which will
engender the smooth and effective implementation of Institute’s
programmes.
iii)
to commit
and dedicate themselves to the task of providing quality service
to the public, recognizing the fact that by the nature of the
operations of the Institute which are field based, the Institute
directly in one way or the other affects the lives of many
Nigerians.
iv)
to support the
Government in its on-going reforms aimed at improving the
quality of life of its citizenry.
5.0 CONCLUSION
The participants commended the
Director and Chief Executive and the Management for organizing
the Retreat. They also commended His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmadu
Adamu Muazu, the Governor of Bauchi State for his development
efforts and his commitment towards the improvement of education
in Bauchi State. They expressed their most profound gratitude to the Executive
Governor, the Government and people of
Bauchi
State for their warm reception, hospitality and support for the success of
the Retreat. They expressed their appreciation to the Hon.
Minister of Education, Prof. Fabian Osuji, the Hon. Minister of
State for Education, Hajja Bintu Ibrahim Musa and the Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Talba
for their continued support to the Institute.
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