An NGO, Human Development Initiatives (HDI), on Friday, said the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic might pose a huge threat to the actualisation of quality basic education in Nigeria.
It’s Executive Director, Mrs Olufunso Owasanoye made the assertion at a two-day training programme for “Supply-Side Implementers of Basic Education” in Lagos.
The Newsmen reports that the theme of the programme was entitled: “Implementing Basic Education in a Post COVID-19 Nigeria”.
Owasanoye said the pandemic had revealed the weakness in the nation’s education sector, adding that all hands must be on deck to strengthen what we have on the ground.
According to her, we should be able to handle, not only the pandemic but to also ensure that as the government is trying, encourage learning through virtual education, quality of education is sacrificed.
She said that the initiatives have to support the handlers of basic education in Nigeria to sustain the tempo in achieving quality basic education in a post-COVID-19 Nigeria.
“As an NGO, we have in the past put a lot of effort into building the capacity of Demand-‘Side actors for the delivery of quality and basic education.
“However, we have also noted the importance of capacity development of Supply-Side actors as the needs arise.
“The training is to have a holistic approach to basic education development as eclipsed in the MacArthur Foundation on Nigeria, Sandwich Strategy.
“In order to ensure that the ultimate goal is achieved, it is important to adapt to the new normal by being innovative and flexible in our approach.
“This can be through the collaborative effort of everyone, including both Supply and Demand-side actors,” she said.
Owasanoye commended the Lagos State Government for ensuring continuous learning for children via various learning platforms during the period of lockdown.
Also, Prof. Stephen Oyebade, a lecturer, Department of Higher Education Management, University of Lagos, said the country did not have enough data about the education system.
Oyebade, speaking as one of the facilitators, said the implication of lack of data in schools was that we would not have information on what to do.
“We don’t know how many children are out of school; we don’t know where they are or where to find them or fix them into the system.
“The implication is that with so many institutions, we continue to roll in ignorance, and yet our population is not educated.
“We are in an era of accountability and without enough data on our educational system; we can’t know the number of children who are out of school.
“At present, Nigeria has the largest population of out of school children.
“How can we now make things better, especially in the era of Coronavirus that now required us to provide certain things for schools to resume without proper data.
“How will Nigeria now take off from the post-COVID-19 era and still be able to answer its name in the Committee of Nation.
“My recommendation is that we need to fund education appropriately and visit schools and see what the schools need instead of looking for middlemen who will report and the government will start thinking of what to do,” he said.
Also, Dr Saheed Ibikunle, a member, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB), said that teaching would not be the same again in schools, because of the pandemic experience.
Ibikunle urged teachers to embrace the new system in term of teaching.
He also urged policymakers to give adequate training capacity to teachers from time to time for them to develop.
In his remarks, Mrs Eyitope Aladejana, Project Manager, LASUBEB, commended the HDI for organising the training programme for stakeholders in the education sector.
