COVID-19: NUT, parents, school owners laud Lagos govt on e-lessons programme

The Nigerian Union of Teachers, Parent and school owners laud Lagos government on e-lessons programme in this lockdown of schools due to Covid-19.

The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), parents and private school owners in Lagos State have commended the Lagos State government for organising electronic learning for students during this period of general lockdown following the outbreak and spread of corona virus in the country.

They described it as a well-thought-out initiative that would have significant impacts on the students who are direct beneficiaries, the state’s education sector and the national economy generally.

Tribune Education recalls that the state government upon shutting down all schools in the state two weeks ago promised to organise e-lessons in core subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, on TV, radio and social media platforms for students from primary to senior secondary schools and with each level having its own time table running from Monday to Thursday or Friday as applicable.

Speaking separately in an exclusive interview with Tribune Education, the chairman of NUT, Lagos chapter, Mr Adesina Adedoyin; national deputy president and Southwest coordinator of the Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria (PTAN), Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo; the immediate past president of Lagos chapter of National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Mr Wasiu Adunmadehin, and the chairman of League of Muslim School Proprietors (LEAMSP), Mr Fatai Raheem, among others, said with the TV and radio lessons programme, students would be productively engaged during this compulsory holiday.

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They said they too were following the programmes and observed they were rich in contents and delivery, especially those for the Senior Secondary School (SSS) 3 students who are preparing for the Senior School Certificate Examination being conducted separately by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).

The stakeholders, however, said while some students would benefit greatly from the programme, many may not be able due to their unawareness of the programme and certain challenges beyond their control, including epileptic power supply and huge cost of internet data for those to be watched on YouTube or mobile phones.

Fifteen-year-old Funmi Ajilade, a female student of one of the model colleges is an example of students in the latter category. She told Tribune Education that she and her parents were not aware of the programme.

According to her, they rarely listen to radio in their house and the only television they have is faulty and yet to be repaired.

But when asked why she couldn’t make use of her parents’ mobile phones, she said it was only her mother who has an android phone, and most times, she does not have data to access the internet.

Funmi, however, said even at that, she is preparing in her own little way towards the forthcoming West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and is optimistic that she would do well in it.

Another student, whose mother is even a teacher at Army Cantonment Secondary School, Ikeja, but who did not want to be named said she was not interested in the programme because she is still in SSS2 and believes she will cope once schools are reopened.

SOURCE: Tribune News