Stakeholders Urge Govt To Invest More on ICT Development in Kwara Schools

L-R: The Convener KERS  MR. S. I. NUHU, Hajia Hafsat Jummai Abdulraheem. Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr Muhammad Biola Muhammad, Member of the KERS Organising Committee

By SAEED TIJJANI

A Non Governmental Organization, ISNUAB EDUCATIONAL CONSULTS (IEC) has during its first ever virtual summit, urges Govt to invest more on ICT development in Kwara Schools, in spite of the breakout of the deadly covid-19 pandemic ravaging the world.

The Virtual Summit held via (ZOOM) on 19th December, 2020 had in attendance various stakeholders , educational experts, business personalities, Lawyers, Journalists, Students, Youth corps member, concerned individuals, consisting of over 200 audiences. The summit tagged: Kwara Education Reform Summit 2020 with the theme: Covid-19 and its effect on Education’ was indeed a wake up call to the Govt to tackle the rots in the educational sector, across the state.

The virtual summit also had in attendance the Kwara State Honourable Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Hajia Sa’adat Madibo Kawu, ably represented by Mr. Joseph Afolayan, the DVC, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin; the Provost, Kwara State College of Education.

in a COMMUNIQUE presented to 9japarrot; MR. S. I. NUHU, who is the Convener of the Summit,  described the closure of schools at all levels of education, as catastrophe to humanity, probably worse than the Covid-19 pandemic. 

He said public schools in Nigeria who were never engaged in virtual learning now find it difficult to continue teaching and learning. Mr. Sikiru referred to the adoption of radio and television alternative classes as been beneficial to some selected few and cannot be used to justify knowledge passed holistically, and as result, this affects academic performances generally, saying this is the right time to make sure we fully integrate IT to our educational sector.

Prof. Fapetu Abiola Awosika, who spoke on the main theme: Covid-19 and its effect on Education, discussed the major implications of Covid-19 on the educational system. She made emphasis on standards, embrace and enhance the reset in the sector. She made it known that technology is here to stay and we have no other choice than to leverage on it usage. She said this can be achieved by creating  the right environment for human development, right environment for tech-preneurs and innovators , rolls out progressive policies around these development goals, plan the inclusion of various sectors like Special Education, People with disabilities, Low income schools, Vocation and Technical Education and Internally Displaced People, and to Execute with precision. The professor concluded by advising the relevant stakeholders to take charge and ensure that all deficit shown by the pandemic are corrected.

The second guest speaker Dr. Sa’ad Usman, the Sub-Dean Faculty of Education, KWASU, who delivered a presentation on “Implications and Challenges of Education Pandemic, The speaker discussed the readiness and adoption of blended learning as the solution to the pandemic. He also emphases on the inculcation of e-learning at our schools. He said, it is the only through online teaching and learning that we can compete with international institution.

The third speaker, Mr. Mohmmed Abdullahi, who is a media and youth development practitioner, positioned his topic on ‘LEVERAGING ICT AS A TOOL FOR DELIVERING QUALITY EDUCATION. He talked on current situation of organizations and institutions globally as they now looking for ways to shift some of the hitherto offline activities to an online environment. He said, Nigeria, nay Kwara, cannot be left behind in this new drive for a digital engagement which would prevent a further disruption of our activities in an event of a pandemic like the one the world is currently dealing with. This is why this sort of conversation initiated by ISNUAB Educational Consult is not only auspicious but quite significant. He further discussed the impacts of ICT on a developing state like Kwara. He said, ICTs have the potential for increasing access to and improving the relevance and quality of education. It greatly facilitates the acquisition and absorption of knowledge, offering developing states such as ours unprecedented opportunities to enhance educational systems, improve policy formulation and execution, and open access to knowledge in ways unimaginable not long ago. ICT also help expand access to education. ICTs are a potentially powerful tool for extending educational opportunities, both formal and non-formal, to previously underserved constituencies—e.g, groups traditionally excluded from education due to cultural or social reasons such as ethnic minorities, girls and women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly, as well as all others who for reasons of cost or because of time constraints are unable to enrol in classroom based education. He concluded on the impact talking about, Greater access to learning materials/virtual teachers: With the Internet and the World Wide Web, a wealth of learning materials in almost every subject and in a variety of media can now be accessed from anywhere at anytime of the day and by an unlimited number of people. This is particularly significant for many schools in developing countries, and even some in developed countries, that have limited and outdated library resources. ICTs also facilitate access to resource persons— mentors, experts, researchers, professionals, business leaders, and peers—all over the world.

Mr. Mohmmed Abdullahi also itemized the challenges and possible way forward for the adoption of ICT as follows;

1. Lack of skilled and qualified teachers

2. Lack of infrastructure — decent classrooms and constant electricity

3. Low internet penetration

4. Fear of increased moral degradation as a result of abuse of ICT facilities by students.

5. May increase failure rate due to the distractions that may arise if not properly monitored.

Below are some of the way forward in curtailing the challenges;

1. Incentives to drive private investment in the area of internet facilities.

2. Begin a phased development of ICT-compliant schools.

3. Prioritize spending on education to factor in ICT development in schools

4. ICT training and sensitization for teachers so that they are equipped with transferable skills in that area.

5. Consider PPP arrangements to ensure quick implementation of ICT policy in relation to education.

Mr. Mohammed urges the relevant stakeholders to invest in capacity building and encourage the usage of ICT at all levels.

Based on the observations, perspectives and submission from the summit, the following 11 recommendations and submission were made:

 1. The State Government should re-position the provision of education using critical ICT skills for teaching, learning, examination, reviews and other deliverables. 

2. There must be a positive change of attitude to work by teachers in both public and private schools, especially in the areas of commitment to work, dedication to duties, integrity, punctuality and strict discipline.

 3. Emphasis must now be placed on skills acquisition in our schools to improve the State education advancement and enhance mass acquisition of knowledge and information.

 4. Government is advised to put in place industrial-driven vocational training and to properly equip our technical colleges to fast-track skills acquisition and make graduates from that sub-sector readily employable. 

5. There must be assessment of Teachers periodically while students’ performance should now determine the rating or promotion of the teachers.

 6. Students with special needs should be given deserved attention while all education stakeholders should be involved in their upbringing and training. They should be referred to as differently able children and not disabled children. 

7. Government is enjoined to periodically engage in the training and re-training of Teachers as a way of updating their knowledge and enhancement of their competency. Special and attractive package must be earmarked for teachers serving in the rural areas as a way of motivating them. 

8. Curriculum should be domesticated to meet local needs, and reviewed constantly, while implementation should be paramount.

9. The criteria for admitting students into teacher’s colleges of education should be reviewed.

10. Schools should be prepared to switch from onsite learning activities to online. 

11. Government should establish a bureau of Community and Entrepreneurship Training for students to harness more potential and avail the students more opportunities to develop themselves.