The Ogun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), in conjunction with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), has introduced a School-to-Farm Programme in basic education.
The programme is to instill practical agricultural skills among learners in primary and junior secondary schools.
The Executive Chairman Ogun SUBEB, Dr. Femi Majekodunmi disclosed this during an Advocacy meeting of the Agriculture Education Training Programme (AETP), which comprised stakeholders in the basic education sector, at NUT Hall in Kuto, Abeokuta
He added that the Programme would prepare pupils for lifelong learning in line with UBEC's mandate, as well as teach them on how to raise chickens, rabbits, snails and fish in addition to the cultivation of farm produce like maize, cassava, yam and vegetables.
Majekodunmi noted that in recent years, the teaching of agriculture as a subject had been predominantly theoretical and less practical, saying the theoretical-based approach leaves most learners unaware of what some agricultural products look like, with no idea of how they are grown, harvested, processed, or stored.
He said agricultural education would introduce students to a variety of job prospects, including agribusiness, agro-technology, agricultural engineering, sustainable farming methods, and rural development.
‘’To address this issue, UBEC has allocated a certain percentage of the UBEC grant to AETP, in order to make Agricultural Science at the basic education level more practical and hands-on.
"The goal is to equip learners with the necessary skills to stimulate self-employment, provide them with functional entrepreneurship and life skills, promote the dignity of labour and self-esteem, and expose them to the biological processes of agriculture’’, the SUBEB boss said.
The SUBEB boss stated that the programme’s objective also includes familiarising participants with approved guidelines, increasing their ability to carry out the programme, sharing experiences, and adopting best practices, stating that it would also enhance the capacity of teachers and community members who would be involved in its implementation.
The Chairman anticipated that by the end of the meeting, participants would have developed a framework to ensure the programme's viability in various divisions.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, represented by the Director of Primary Education in the State, Mrs. Bamidele Makinde, said effective engagement of children at a young age in agriculture would help them learn other important aspects of life, as agriculture was based on the cycle of how things grow, live and die.
He advised education stakeholders to support the initiative, saying it was part of the State government’s efforts to enhance learners' interest in agricultural enterprises.
In his remarks, SUBEB Board Secretary, Dr. Mukail Lawal, pointed out that the initiative aimed at bridging the gap between theory and practice, the classroom and the farm, and would empower learners with the knowledge and skills required to excel in the agricultural sector.
Participants at the advocacy meeting include representatives of UBEC, SUBEB, OGADEP, Ministry of Agriculture, Ogun/Osun River Basin Authority, all Basic Education Stakeholders, Education Secretaries, Headteachers and learners
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