TEP Centre

When students struggle emotionally, it impacts their behaviour in the classroom, their focus and ability to learn.

As an educator, you’re often the first person to notice.

But are you equipped to respond?

CLI College and TEP Centre are bringing together educators for a 2 day online training designed to help you understand and support the emotional needs of today’s learners, because great teaching goes beyond the curriculum.

Whether you’re a classroom teacher, school leader, or education professional, this training will give you practical tools to create safer, more supportive learning environments.

Spaces are limited don’t miss out:
https://forms.gle/4WZM6AyjanuQc3BV9

We’re excited to share more insights from our work on the Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE).

We recently concluded the Ekiti State School Graded Assessment (GAPS) in which we assessed 527 schools, spanning 432 private (82%) and 95 public (18%) institutions, providing a system-wide snapshot of how these schools function in practice, capturing the realities of governance, staffing, infrastructure, and learning conditions across the state.

From the assessment , there are clear signs of progress:

- Access is expanding, with over 132,000 learners enrolled and gender parity balanced.

- While access to schooling is strong and many schools support girls and boys fairly, the learning environments still fall short of what children need to truly thrive.

- The system structure is highly fragmented, with single proprietors dominating the non-state sector and only limited involvement from institutional or non-profit providers.

- Many schools are also still operating within early or transitional approval stages in registration, raising important questions around consistency and oversight.

- The teacher workforce is sizeable, but variations in qualifications and uneven pupil-teacher ratios exist, suggesting that capacity is not yet translating into consistent instructional quality.

- There is also a notable gap in inclusion, with only 31 teachers with disabilities identified across the state.

Perhaps most telling is how schools perceive themselves. Across the board, self-assessment scores trend higher than independent validator ratings. It is a subtle but an important signal, one that speaks not just to the performance gaps, but also the need for stronger, more objective systems of accountability.

Overall, in line with our vision at TEP Centre, this work reflects our commitment to generating evidence based insights that inform policy, strengthen learning systems, and drive meaningful improvements in learning outcomes.

Because ultimately, better data leads to better decisions, and better decisions lead to improved outcomes for learners.

In the last few months, TEP Centre has been working on the PLANE project - the Ogun State School Graded Assessment (GAPS), in line with PLANE’s vision to improve learning outcomes, strengthen literacy, and build a more inclusive and effective education system in Nigeria.

As part of this work, we conducted an extensive assessment, together with the Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, to better understand the realities of teaching and learning in non-state schools.

After intensive research, here are a few of our findings:

From assessing over 450 schools in the state, analysing teacher qualifications, learner enrolment, and infrastructure conditions, the findings highlight a system with strong participation but uneven quality and learning conditions. While conventional schools dominate the non-state sector and enrolment remains high, certain challenges highlight areas requiring urgent attention.
Critical infrastructure gaps persist in limited access to basic services, infrastructure deficits, and a largely mid-qualified teaching workforce - 95 schools lack water, 93 lack electricity, and 111 operate without perimeter fencing. Classroom and sanitation pressures also remain, with a 1:16 learner–classroom ratio and 1:24 learner–toilet ratio.

The school quality grading also shows that many institutions are still in the “emerging” and “enhancing” stages, underscoring the need for sustained investment in quality improvement. More importantly, this points towards strengthening teacher development, improving WASH facilities, expanding access to electricity and water, and reinforcing regulatory systems are key priorities for building a more effective and equitable education system.

Ultimately, the gap between school self-assessments and external validation underscores the critical role of independent quality assurance in driving objective, system-wide improvement.

In the last few months, TEP Centre has been working on the PLANE project - the Ogun State School Graded Assessment (GAPS), in line with PLANE’s vision to improve learning outcomes, strengthen literacy, and build a more inclusive and effective education system in Nigeria.

As part of this work, we conducted an extensive assessment, together with the Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, to better understand the realities of teaching and learning in non-state schools.

After intensive research, here are a few of our findings:

From assessing over 450 schools in the state, analysing teacher qualifications, learner enrolment, and infrastructure conditions, the findings highlight a system with strong participation but uneven quality and learning conditions. While conventional schools dominate the non-state sector and enrolment remains high, certain challenges highlight areas requiring urgent attention.
Critical infrastructure gaps persist in limited access to basic services, infrastructure deficits, and a largely mid-qualified teaching workforce - 95 schools lack water, 93 lack electricity, and 111 operate without perimeter fencing. Classroom and sanitation pressures also remain, with a 1:16 learner–classroom ratio and 1:24 learner–toilet ratio.

The school quality grading also shows that many institutions are still in the “emerging” and “enhancing” stages, underscoring the need for sustained investment in quality improvement.

To address these gaps, the assessment provides a foundation for a plan that enables the government to move from data to action. This includes prioritising targeted teacher development programmes, improving access to WASH facilities and basic infrastructure, strengthening school-level leadership and accountability, and implementing structured support systems to help schools progress across quality tiers.

Ultimately, the gap between school self-assessments and external validation underscores the critical role of independent quality assurance in driving objective, system-wide improvement.

Education innovation doesn’t always mean starting from scratch. Sometimes the most powerful solutions already exist, tested, proven, and ready to adapt.

They aren’t just “nice ideas.” They’re evidence-based approaches that have closed achievement gaps, and improved learning outcomes in these countries’ education systems.

Why does digital learning matter for public schools?

Access to quality education shouldn’t depend on geography, income, or infrastructure. The existence of digital tools have created a bridge that erases these limitations.

Digital learning has the power to bring world-class resources to the most remote classrooms, connect students to global knowledge, and prepare young people for futures we can barely imagine. But this is possible only when we prioritize infrastructure, capacity building, and inclusion - intentionally promoting digital transformation even in public schools.

On this International Day of Digital Learning, we commit to building digital futures that serve ALL students, not just the privileged few. Because every child, regardless of where they learn, deserves tools that unlock their potential.

Some children learn by doing.
Others by listening.
Some need visuals.
Others need movement.

Great teaching isn’t about one perfect method. It’s about having many tools and knowing when to use each one. That is what inclusive, responsive teaching looks like.

Meet your students where they are and they’ll show you how brilliant they can be.

Every girl deserves to see herself as whatever she dreams of becoming.
As educators, it’s pertinent we work to create more inclusive classrooms and learning materials that empower, not limit the girl child.

Share this if it resonates with you.

Happy International Women’s Day!
Honouring incredible women leaders and the power they bring to education and beyond.
At TEP Centre, we’re committed to empowering girls through quality learning — giving today for a stronger tomorrow.
Grateful for every woman making a difference.

Education research is practical. It aims to ask questions that matter and answer them, to understand the real problem and identify what works in different contexts.
Good education research informs decisions, guides investments, and improves outcomes.

What are some ways research transforms education?
1. Research helps us understand the real problem, not the assumed one. Before you can solve a problem, you have to understand it, and each root cause identified requires a completely different intervention. Without research to diagnose the actual problem, we end up treating symptoms instead of causes.

2. Research shows us what actually works (in our context). Something that works brilliantly in Finland might fail spectacularly in Kano. Not because Nigerian educators or students are less capable, but because context matters enormously. With good research, we can identify and understand what approaches work in our specific cultural, linguistic, and economic context, then test interventions before scaling them nationally.

3. Research holds us accountable. It forces us to move beyond inputs (what we did) to outcomes (what changed as a result). It creates accountability not to checklists, but to actual improvement in children’s learning and wellbeing.

4. Research builds institutional knowledge. Without documentation and research, education systems have no memory. Research creates an evidence base that outlasts individuals, allowing systems to learn, improve, and build on what works.

Education research isn’t optional. It’s fundamental in building systems where evidence guides every major decision, where we test, learn, and continuously improve based on what actually works.

What’s your experience with using research to inform education decisions?

Why do you feel overwhelmed when your students are dysregulated?

Here’s what most teacher trainings don’t tell you: You can’t regulate your students if you can’t regulate yourself. It’s almost impossible to properly handle a child’s meltdown if you’re one stress away from your own. That’s why mastering and being in control of your social emotional and mental health are important as educators.

When you understand social emotional learning and mental health, you unlock something powerful, the ability to create a classroom where emotions are handled, not feared. Where YOU remain centered, even in chaos.

In this 2-day training you will:

🔹 Learn practical tools to manage YOUR mental health first, stress management techniques that work in our Nigerian context, not imported theories that don’t fit our reality.

🔹 Learn strategies to understand student behavior through an emotional lens.

🔹 Be part of a community of educators who understand your struggles, teachers facing the same challenges and supporting each

🔹 Obtain a globally recognized certification, adding credibility to your professional profile.

This is one investment that will change how you teach, how you feel, and how you show up for yourself and your students.

Secure your spot now: bit.ly/SafeClassrooms2025