With the intention to include environmental education in the school curriculum, Conservation Society Sierra Leone (CSSL) in partnership with the Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MEST) will complete a three day training of teachers’ workshop tomorrow.
The objective of the workshop is to train teachers to deliver environmental lessons in schools; to develop notes for classrooms teaching; to develop notes for field trips; and to discuss challenges of transmission of knowledge and make recommendations for improvement.
Twelve schools in Freetown as well as sixty pupils are the targeted participants in the training.
In his statement, during the opening of the workshop at Christian Health Association (CHASL) hall in Freetown, the president of CSSL, Charles Showers said, and the program is geared towards promoting awareness about the environment and conservation in different schools through nature clubs.
He said “we are there towards making sure that our future leaders are environmentally minded. One of the medium through which we get to them is their teachers”.
Sahr Foday is the Regional Basic Education Officer, Basic Education Commission of the MEST. He said “this program is very important for our educational system looking at the challenges we are having with the issue of the environment …we have seen the climate change”.
He went on to say when they heard about the program, they seized the opportunity to include environmental education in the school curriculum of Primary and Junior Secondary Schools. “If the children are able to understand the environmental issues at that tender age they will be able to prevent environmental hazards”.
He explained that environmental education will not serve as a subject on it own but it will be featured as a topic in General Science which is a related subject. “It is practically oriented. People will learn by doing and so it will create much impact”, he assured.
One of the participants is Alusine Y. Fornah. He is the coordinator of the nature club at Sengbeh Pieh Memorial Secondary School at Hamilton. Expressing his opinion on the training, he said “this program is timely, environmental issues are emerging issues as we are destroying our environment”. He went on to say that since they are running nature clubs in their school they have been disseminating environmental issues in that school. He added that they are also engaged in waste management and tree planting.
By Edna Smalle
Thursday October 06, 2016