THE Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has commenced the development of e-learning software designed to integrate modern learning approaches into basic education delivery in line with the global best practices.
Head, Public Relations and Protocol, UBEC, Mr David Apeh, who confirmed the development, explained that the e-learning intervention would culminate in the adoption and utilisation of essential Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platforms for enhancing teaching in public basic education institutions.
He said the commission was worried about poor quality outcomes of some public schools in the country and was determined to reverse the trend and reposition the basic education sub-sector for improved performance.
Apeh further noted that the commission had also initiated key intervention programmes such as the Effective School programme (ESP), The Open Schooling Programme (OSP), The UBE Model Schools and the e-learning programme with a view to ensuring equitable access to basic education opportunities for all school age learners while also improving the quality of the system.
“UBEC believes that these interventions will add value and improve teaching and learning in our schools,” he said.
He explained that the Effective School programme (ESP) was designed to ensure that the right infrastructure, process and stakeholder commitment were deployed towards enhancing teaching and learning in schools, noting that over time, standards and quality had been among the key challenges of basic education sub-sector in Nigeria.
He added that the Effective School Programme aimed to implement the prescribed minimum standard in selected schools in each state and the FCT over a three-year pilot phase, stressing that the main goal of ESP was to institutionalise basic practices that conform to the minimum standards that can produce graduates with effective life skills and who can function and compete favourably in the 21st century knowledge economy.
“The over-arching objective of the ESP is therefore to produce graduates who possess critical thinking, self-reliant skills as well as the ability to innovate and create a better future for themselves and the larger Nigerian society,” he said.
According to him, in the first year, each state and the Federal Capital Territory would identify schools to be supported by UBEC in applying the minimum standard in all components of basic education.
He said this pilot phase would provide sufficient learning on the proposed intervention and also inform further efforts in programme implementation and that after the first year, additional numbers of schools would be added in the subsequent two years to demonstrate UBEC and States Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) resolve and capacity for scaling up and sustaining the intervention as the case may be.
He said UBEC targeted attainment of 100 per cent improvement of learning infrastructure, processes and outcomes by year 2026, as Open School Programme was also designed to provide educational opportunities for children and youth whose learning needs are not being met by conventional schools.
The UBEC spokesperson said the open school system, when fully implemented, would enhance access to quality and functional education for marginalised and disadvantaged groups in the country, stressing that the programme would also assist UBEC efforts and desire to attain 100 per cent transition rate from primary to junior secondary school.
He said the OSP intervention would equally provide a second chance for school drop-outs and would help in meeting the changing needs of children and youths through the provision of functional vocational education.
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