Nursery and primary school teachers of the Kumbo Diocese have ended a six-week in-service crash course in the St. Augustine’s College Campus Kumbo.

The crash in-service courses that come up every year for three years and the candidate graduates after the three years were organised by the Catholic Education Secretariat, Kumbo Diocese.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Pedagogic Adviser and Coordinator of the in-service training course, Marius Berinyuy, described a Catholic teacher as an embodiment of integrity and social justice and one who leads his pupils, parents and community to heaven.

A Catholic teacher, he went on, is not just any kind of teacher but one who teaches more by personal life example, than by word.

Berinyuy said the training was aimed at reinforcing and building their capacities to make them more performant in their various teaching assignments.

He said the objective was to make them effective in accordance with the standard requirements of the schools. He stated that the in-service training gave them the opportunity to realise or start realising their vision of becoming nursery and primary school teachers.

Berinyuy said the course will help them to know themselves, the environment and the know-how to lead their communities better. He said the training they received was theoretical and practical teaching will be done in their various schools. Thanking the facilitators and participants, he wished that the graduates would perform as their predecessors and exploit further training opportunities in teacher training colleges.

He advised them to set up anti-corruption committees in their schools to minimise corruption in school milieus and to promote integrity and social justice.

Rev. Fr. Cornelius Safe presided over the graduation Holy Mass on behalf of the Bishop of Kumbo Diocese, George Nkuo, and the Education Secretary. In his homily, Fr. Safe said the church needs the teachers for their own salvation and that of the children. He told them that the course was meant to sharpen their teaching skills and that they should be satisfied and contented with what they have and to avoid wrangling among themselves.

He advised teachers to avoid giving priests gifts but to convert them into cash and put them as alms for the benefit of all in the church. On behalf of the Bishop of Kumbo Diocese and the Catholic Education Secretary, he thanked the student teachers and facilitators for the tremendous work and encouraged them not to relent their efforts in that direction.

The discipline committee of the in-service training noted a difficult start and stressed collaboration between facilitators and the student teachers during the course. Onorine Lukong who spoke on health conditions of the trainees said it was very good, except cases like malaria, gastritis and tooth ache that occurred during the training.

According to the head of the academic deans, Wandon, a total of 118 participants took part in the course. In group one there were 28 candidates and 22 passed, with Elizabeth Yengla Melo coming out first, while six failed. Group two had 29 students teachers and 21 were successful while eight failed.

Berinyuy emerged first and finally in group three that graduated, 61 wrote the examination and 50 of them passed while 11 candidates failed. Mildred Lontum came out the over-all first. Academic prizes were awarded to the first three passers in each group and for cleanliness and best baby-sitter.