FG unveils e-learning platforms to expand access to education

The federal government has unveiled e-learning platforms to expand access to education at all levels, improve literacy rate and deepen digital learning across the country.

The platforms would help overcome major barriers to learning in Nigeria, particularly the dearth of facilities in the educational sector, Sonny Echono, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Education, said in Abuja on Tuesday.

“We’re confronted with challenges of overcrowding from primary to tertiary level of learning. We have a dearth of facilities in many of our schools in rural and suburban communities. We want to deal with the issue of mass and adult literacy, but as a government, we realised that we will never be in a position to provide enough classrooms for everybody.”

“Even if we are able to perform the magic of providing enough classrooms, we will not have enough teachers and other learning tools and aids . By leveraging on technology, we will be able to expand access and we will no longer be limited on the spaces available”, Echono said.

The permanent secretary noted that the advent of Covid-19 heralded a new normal which compelled the Ministry to rethink and accelerate strategies in alternative means of delivering learning.

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“Today, I have the great pleasure of introducing two e-learning platforms; Inspire for learners and Ignite for teachers and educators as free, curated and collaborative access content models.

The website will be available for the entire country. It is attractive and user-friendly,” he said, adding that the platforms can be used by two million Nigerians at the same time.

Echono further explained that the platforms are designed to provide a unified approach to e-learning by providing access to high quality, certified content; and provide a comprehensive education sector data portal that is verifiable and accessible online from across the nation by learners, teachers, researchers and other stakeholders covering the three tiers of the education sector.

The permanent secretary said 4,000 video lessons for basic level, 7,000 video lessons for secondary level and 4,000 audio lessons for secondary level have been created for the Nigerians to access on the platforms.

On rural communities with no connectivity, the permanent secretary said broadcast channels such as T.V and radio will be used as alternative channels of learning.

To ensure quality and veracity, Echono said only teachers registered with Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TCRN) will be allowed to register, by including a TRCN number requirement during the registration process.

The permanent secretary also disclosed that policies for digital learning in Nigeria are underway.