By Njide Ezeonyejiaku
The 2025 annual leadership retreat for Officers-in-Charge, Headteachers and Directors in the Anambra State basic schools system has ended with a call on the participants to leverage technology in their teaching and learning processes for maximum learning outcomes as school resumes in September.
The retreat, held at the Archbishop A. K. Obiefuna Retreat, Pastoral and Conference Centre, Okpuno from 11th till 26th August in 12 sessions across the 21 Local Government Areas in Anambra State is themed: “21st Century Management/Leadership Skills: Tool for Excellent Performance in Basic Education”.
Declaring the retreat open , the Executive Chairman, Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board, ASUBEB, Awka, Dr. Vera Nkiru Nwadinobi said Headteachers, Directors and Officers-in-Charge play vital roles in shaping the minds of future leaders, stressing that their dedication is instrumental in driving ‘quality education for all’ agenda of Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR in Anambra State.
Dr. Nwadinobi observed that the essence of the two weeks retreat was to expose the participants to the 21st century management and leadership skills for excellent performance in basic education.
“As Headteachers and stakeholders in the present digital era, you are required to leverage technology for Administration and instructions, while modelling integrity, discipline, and professionalism for a better service delivery to our learners” she opined.
Continuing, the ASUBEB boss warned Headteachers against any form of exploitation of parents under any guise, which she said, denies the children of the poor equal access to quality education that has become completely free in Anambra State government’s free education policy, stressing that any headteacher that violates the directive will be stepped down.
The Director, Quality Assurance Department, ASUBEB, Awka Lady Stella Ezepue in a welcome address noted that it has become imperative for educators to be equipped with skills and strategies for handling the art of teaching and learning, adding that the teachers’ methods should be more of learners-centred approaches in content delivery, while the retreat is meant to retrain the headteachers who are involved in all basic education stages.
One of the resource persons, Prof. Vivian Nwogbo of the Department of Educational Management & Policy, UNIZIK, Awka harped on the need for school administrators to respond to policy changes, integrate technology and address evolving needs of both learners and teachers, noting that the 21st century leader should be visionary, adaptive, inclusive, distributive, and transformational with emotional intelligence to excel in school management.
On his part, Prof. Ikechukwu of Computer Science Department, UNIZIK, Awka Onyenwe spoke on the importance of leveraging technology in today’s classrooms, appealling to the school heads to embrace technology in administration for a better service delivery.
Dr. Eberechukwu Chigbu of the Department of Guidance & Counselling, UNIZIK, Awka dwelt on modelling integrity, discipline and professionalism, calling on leaders to inspire trust, drive consistency and set high standards by acquiring soft skills such as subjective and interpersonal skills; hard skills in the area of language proficiency and ICTs, adding that by modelling ethics and moral principles such as integrity, honesty, fairness and accountability among others, the upcoming generation will key into excellent performance seamlessly.
In their separate remarks, the Board Secretary, Hon. Loveline Mgbemena, the ASUBEB Member 1, Hon. Ify Anatune and the ASUBEB Ex Officio Member, representing PTA, Hon. Uche Egbusi urged teachers to be positive in their choice of words to the learners; while the Education Secretary, Mission Schools, Lieutenant Ikechukwu Onyebuchi highlighted the importance of teacher’s communication with pupils and the need for child protection.
Questions and answers featured at the retreat.
