The coronavirus pandemic which has crippled economic activities across the globe has laid bare Nigeria’s failed education system.
The sector has been one of the biggest losers since the outbreak of the pandemic forced the government to enact a total closure and disruption of academic activities across the country.
Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, minister of state for education, said the pandemic has so far exposed the weakness in the country’s educational system with a more devastating effect on the underserved populace.
Unlike other countries of the world that have resorted to the use of intensive technology to facilitate e-learning process and tame the economic and financial impact of the pandemic on their education sector, Africa’s largest economy has been left in the shade due its high infrastructural deficit, high poverty levels and widening inequality gap that has cast a spell on the nation’s ability to use digital technology to drive an inclusive learning for its burgeoning population.
These are issues of serious concern to both private and public sector players in Nigeria’s education space who, in a webinar session put together by BusinessDay in collaboration with telecommunications giant MTN Nigeria on Thursday, joined voices together in brainstorming on ways the country’s educational sector could better avert any impending dangers that might stem from the pandemic.
The session, which is the fourth in a row, was moderated by Yinka David-West, a professor at the Lagos Business School. It hosted stakeholders in Nigeria’s education sector who spoke on the theme “Rethinking education in Nigeria: The way forward post COVID-19”.
In their various contributions at the dialogue, the stakeholders observed that the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has amplified the challenges of access, funding, teacher quality and inequity that Nigeria’s education sector grapples with.
They therefore called for a national emergency to rescue this pivotal sector. They also called on the government to build the capacity of teachers, access to learning infrastructure and ICT and the deployment of such technologies.
For the rich who could afford some of the best private schools, the lockdown offered an avenue to explore the use of digital learning processes, but for the poor who make up the larger chunk of the country’s population, it could be an another devastating move that would increase the country’s out-of-school children which as at 2015 was estimated at 10.5 million.
“With digital learning, the role of teacher is not just about delivering content because content is everywhere, but about facilitating relationships,” said Folawe Omikunle, CEO, Teach for Nigeria.
To tackle the challenges of access to quality education, quality of teachers, there is a need to find leaders across all sector, Omikunle said.
Bunmi Lawson, managing director, Edfinance Microfinance Bank, called on the Federal Government with support of the private sector to provide critical infrastructure.
Lawson said government needs to change the structure of education funding, calling for a control to achieve the most efficient manner of funding.
Sim Shagaya, founder of U Lesson, said Nigeria must in the face of COVID-19 show a willingness to experiment with new ways to deliver education and scaling.
He, however, said the good thing about the crisis is that Nigeria does not have a choice than to use the opportunity of the coronavirus to try new things about learning.
Other members of the panel include Yoyin Adesina, CEO, Corona Schools Trust Council, and Adetunji Adegbesan.
KELECHI EWUZIE & MICHEAL ANI
