UNGA77: Buhari must fulfill his pledge on digital learning -Expert

 

An educational analyst, Misan Thorpe has urged President Muhammad Buhari not to waste time in  fulfilling the pledge, made at the recently concluded United Nations General Assembly (UNGA77), on adoption of digital learning in Nigeria.

At the three-day Transforming Education Summit organised on the sidelines of the 77th UNGA, President Buhari said that government would reach all learners wherever they are with quality, inclusive learning and skills development opportunities.

 

At the Thematic Session Four tagged 'Digital Transformation of Education', the President admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic catalysed the adoption of digital learning options across Nigeria and that going forward, his administration would further promote this with the National Digital Learning Policy as a guide. The National Digital Learning Policy focuses on the long-term vision of inclusive digital transformation by increasing public provisioning for digital learning.

According to Thorpe, "empirical studies have highlight the importance and benefits of digital learning; hence President Buhari's declaration at UNGA 77 merely trumpets what the concerned stakeholders had been crying about. "Unlike the traditional method of using blackboards and the classroom setting being teacher-centred, digital, as the name implies, means the use of digital boards; it is student-centred and encourages the use of computers, mobile devices and social media for learning.

 

"Social media has become an essential element of the e-learning experience. Digital learning has been shown to, among others, create a more dynamic environment by turning traditionally dull subjects into interactive and fun activities, incorporating different learning styles to benefit all the students, improving collaboration, connecting students better and preparing children for the future. Besides, which child would prefer carrying a stack of notebooks and textbooks instead of a light iPad or device? Or who would want a weighty text instead of surfing an e-book?.

"Preparing pupils for a digital future by introducing technology to them at an early age and meeting the United Nations' sustainable development 2030 agenda on quality education was what made Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State to inaugurate EKOEXCEL, an educational intervention to transform Lagos public primary schools through technology deployment in 2009. 

"The initiative, supported by the global ed-tech platform, NewGlobe as a technical partner, has proven to record tangible gains among teachers and pupils, leading to improved learning outcomes for pupils and more professional teachers". 

 

Thorpe said Sanwo-Olu's initiative on education was most helpful in the state during the COVID-19 era, due to it impact on pupils preparing  for their final examination and it also kept others fresh. 

Added  that the impacts had been felt among pupils and teachers, with empirical studies affirming the gains. 

"Interestingly, the Edo State Government under Governor Obaseki had seen the benefits and adopted the same a year before Lagos did with EDOBEST, still with NewGlobe. This ed-tech platform supports visionary governments by creating robust technology-enabled education systems as the technical partner.

 "As of March 2022, EdoBEST was available to 280,000 pupils and had expanded to 380 schools with 2,602 gadgets (teacher tablets and smartphones) handed over to teachers, headteachers, principals, quality assurance officers and learning development officers at a recent graduation ceremony. Over 28,000 Edo children now have access to the EdoBEST pedagogy, which has delivered improved learning experiences in classrooms across the State",

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