Education
SOME stakeholders have urged the government to provide an enabling environment in public schools to enhance teaching and learning of ICT toward meeting global standards in educational system.
The stakeholders, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Monday, said that this had become necessary in view of the importance of ICT to the development of the society.
Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, Oyo State wing, Mr Raji Oladimeji, stressed the need for infrastructural development by governments at all levels toward achieving the teaching and learning of ICT in public schools across the country.
Oladimeji noted that the union had moved away from the era of analogue to digital education, thereby supporting teachers with required knowledge on how to perform their duties.
“If you are a teacher today, you should be computer literate and be ICT-compliant. As a responsible body, NUT has been organising seminars to update teachers’ knowledge in this regard.
“We are also introducing them to modern technology that can assist them in teaching ICT and functioning well in today’s educational system,” Oladimeji said.
He further stated that the availability of technological equipment would assist in the development of ICT education in public schools, such as computer systems, iPads and laptops, among others.
According to him, public education should be digitised such that educational content will be available on computer gadgets, thus making it effective and efficient for teachers to pass knowledge to their students.
“I can assure you that most of our teachers are ICT- compliant but only need some materials to work with,” he said.
The NUT called for strengthening of security in schools to reduce the theft of equipment supplied by kind-hearted Nigerians, especially old students’ associations which had been partnering with government to improve the sector.
Dr Ebenezer Obideyi, an Educational Technologist at St. Augustine College of Education, Akoka, Lagos, said there should be proper management of the teacher-component in achieving excellent ICT learning in public schools.
Obideyi listed the teacher-component to include capacity building for all teachers and provision of infrastructure and equipment.
“There is the need for integration of ICT into the teaching of other subjects in public schools, while teachers must be armed with ICT pedagogical skills in doing these,” the educationist said.
He advocated for a policy that would guide the teaching and learning of ICT in public schools and the adoption of schools by ICT organisations to enhance the transition into digital education in the country beyond what has been in the curricula.
“The way this will work well is when students see teachers who are not from the science field using ICT for everything they do; they will know that it is part of their learning that they have to acquire.
“Let them give assignments, using ICT and other learning activities, however little it may seem.
“These should include the opening of emails, use of a laptop, not just a phone, because the fact that they can use phone does not mean that they can use a laptop,” Obideyi said.
He, however, called for provision of infrastructure and an enabling environment as well as encouragement for students to over their possible phobia for ICT.
Also, Mr Ayodeji Solanke of CVG-Africa, said considering the pace of development of education globally, Nigeria should be prepared to provide education through ICT from primary to tertiary levels.
“In most public schools, ICT is mostly taught theoretically from the pages of textbooks.
“Imagine learning the operations of a computer without the students ever getting to physically see one, talk less of operating it. Help us! The learning of some subjects cannot just be confined to textbooks,” he said.
According to him, issues that can inhibit effective ICT education should be addressed holistically, ranging from availability of power, security challenge to infrastructure maintenance. (NAN)
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October 30, 2023 @ 19:28 GMT|
Tags: Raji Oladimeji
