Seplat Energy Plc, a leading Nigerian independent energy company, has kicked off the 3rd edition of its Seplat Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP) in Benin City, Edo State, empowering a total of 300 teachers from both Edo and Delta States.
A statement from Seplat Energy said the official kick-off of this year’s edition was preceded by a four-day residential workshop which provided leadership, self-improvement introduction to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) training and its application to teaching.
This year, 905 teachers wrote the online qualifying test, and 300 teachers qualified from both states for the four-day-long residential training, and the training which was a huge success, will continue online for additional three months.
Chioma Nwachuku, Seplat Energy’s director, external affairs and sustainability, represented by Joseph Ofili, business relations manager, stated that Seplat Energy in conjunction with its JV partners, the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science and Technology, decided to embark on this initiative to empower teachers towards providing a better education platform for students who are the future leaders.
“The initiative is designed to foster creative thinking; problem-solving abilities; teacher-student engagement and produce well-rounded educated students,” she said.
This year’s edition, Nwachuku said, features the empowerment of 300 teachers from 90 qualifying schools across Edo and Delta States as well as chief inspectors of education in the states and key personnel of the Ministry of Education to ensure impactful delivery of the programme.
She also stated that the participants were split between 75 percent public sector and 25 percent private sector, explaining that all participants had been issued electronic devices and internet data to continue the online training for the next three months.
 Nwachuku noted that the success of the programme was largely attributed to the support received from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science and Technology as well as Seplat Energy’s JV partner, Nigerian Exploration and Production Ltd (NEPL), formerly Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Ltd.
Joan Osa Oviawe, Edo State Commissioner for Education, commended Seplat Energy for the STEP initiative which she branded as a transformative training programme. She also commended the quality and robustness of courses being offered and urged the teachers to share the learnings from the programme with their colleagues who were unable to be part of it. She also encouraged the teachers to ensure their schools and students benefit from the additional knowledge received from the STEP initiative.
Enumerating some of the immediate positive impacts of the STEP initiative, Oviawe stated that the commission will engage the STEP beneficiaries as Master Trainers to facilitate the planned digital learning training programme for Edo State teachers, being set up by the Edo State government under its Education reform programme, “Edo Best 2.0”.
Oviawe further restated the commitment of the Edo State Ministry of Education to continue the partnership with Seplat Energy and other agencies in delivering the transformative CSR initiative.
Also speaking at the event, Rose Ezewu, Delta State Commissioner for Secondary Education, represented by Clementina Ojuma, director of Schools Department, Delta State Ministry of Education, commended the efforts of Seplat Energy and NPDC “for the determination to continually uphold its corporate social responsibilities to its host states, which has sustained quality education in Edo and Delta States over time”.
 “You have been carefully selected for this training which is an uncommon opportunity for you to gain knowledge and become equipped with skills and tools in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, generally known as STEAM,” Ezewu told the participants.
She noted that Delta State had witnessed an increase in students’ participation in local and national science and technology competitions since the launch of the STEP initiative whilst encouraging the teachers to ensure that their schools and students benefit from their learnings.
Seplat Energy has empowered 363 persons (inclusive of 49 chief inspectors of education). The Ministries of Education of both Delta and Edo States are very excited by the programme because of the multiplier effect it had and will continue to have in secondary education. Both states, therefore, have continued to commend Seplat Energy for the feat whilst indicating their unwavering support for the programme.
