E-curriculum will add value to basic education – NERDC boss
What is the e-portal all about?The e-portal is developed to make access to the curriculum easy for learners, to enable them have resources for learning and also enable teachers have resources for teaching. In the past, we were using hard copy curriculum and we had to make thousands copies for distribution to schools across the […]
What is the e-portal all about?
The e-portal is developed to make access to the curriculum easy for learners, to enable them have resources for learning and also enable teachers have resources for teaching. In the past, we were using hard copy curriculum and we had to make thousands copies for distribution to schools across the country. Also, the hard copy does not contain other relevant teaching and learning materials as does the e-curriculum. The e-portal is curriculum that is upgraded on the web with accomplices like model lesson plans, syllabus and scheme of work, model solutions for teachers and learners, as well as e-resources. So in a nut shell e-curriculum is concept developed to help in improving teaching and learning at the basic level of education.
How can the portal make learning easy at the basic level?
Teachers will like to develop lesson plans, lesson notes and they will be guided assessment techniques. The curriculum has the subject matter, the topics, the objectives that will guide the teaching, the suggested materials that would be used for teaching and assessment. That is not sufficient for the teachers because they also need syllabus that is developed in the curriculum, in various subjects, and also need to have what we call unique plans for a month or so and the teachers need to have scheme of work that they can use to teach for a week and all these are part of the portal as model for teachers. It is going to make teaching easy in the sense that teachers can now depend on the portal. If a teacher has difficulty in planning lesson for mathematics subject and he does not know how to do it, all he needs to do is go to the website, go to mathematics and then to model lesson or lesson plan and he can do that not really with a computer but even with a handset.
Did the council train the teachers on how to use the portal?
No, they don’t need to be trained because provided you can use a handset, then you can use the web. People are already skilled in getting to sites so all you need to do is to know the site, the computer is user friendly so you don’t need to sit somebody down to teach him how to go to a particular site when one is connected to the internet. If he is fairly computer literate or knows how to use a handset to get to the site, he can use the portal. We should thank God that Nigerians, even our relations in the villages, know how to use handsets and some even know how to browse. But we have a plan to sensitise teachers, pupils and even the parents on what to do when they go to the site.
Are there plans to incorporate private schools to also benefit from the initiative?
Yes. What we have done is national launch and it’s not just for public schools and the access to information is not precluding private schools. The content is in the clouds so whether you are in public or private school you can gain access to the contents. What we are doing for the organised public schools we should also do for the organized private schools. So the e-curriculum is for all pupils and students of primary and secondary schools both public and private. The concept is for all Nigerians because the FG is for all. The concern of government is to improve the quality of education at the basic level through the e-curriculum, therefore our pupils and students whether in private or public schools we, want them to use this opportunity to improve their knowledge because the initiative was meant for them. So I am urging them to make good use of the concept for their brighter future.
What calls do you have for state governments to partner with the council in promoting the portal?
We had partnerships, links and collaborations with all the 36 state governments in that respect. In fact, some states have placed order for large volumes of the curriculum and we are going to translate that partnership into the e-curriculum so that the states can take it to their schools for the benefit of our children. So, the states can key into this package for their pupils. The beauty of the whole issue is that some are already distributing laptop computers to students and some are enabling their students have the curriculum on their lap tops. That is a great start but we shall go a little further to allow them implant this e-curriculum on their computers so that they can join the trend of interacting with others on the clouds. We have made the web interactive for both teachers and students as well so if go to the site, you cannot only download a curriculum or subject matter but you download other materials of your interest to enable you teach or learn. So, we can work with the states because we have already established partnership with them.
The portal is the first of its kind not only in Nigeria but in the whole of Africa. We have started with the secondary schools and we are going to do same for primary and junior secondary schools in the future. We will also do so for the teachers’ training and we will do it for the books; we will install so many books in the portal to make reading easy for our children. That is how the world is going now and we should not be left out as a developing country.
What is your advice to the parents pertaining to the e-curriculum?
This is a very useful tool for our children and therefore parents should go to the site and guide their children to do things that will add value to their (children) future. Already, some African countries have started coming to us to share the core values with them. For instance, my agency is going for a bench marking visit to Kenyan Institute for Curriculum Development to showcase what we are doing so that the centre can replicate or domesticate what we have done here in Nigeria. This is to tell you that the concept is acceptable not only in Nigeria but in the whole of Africa because as I have said earlier, the e-curriculum is the first of its kind in the whole of Africa. Parents and stakeholders in the education sector should not only appreciate and accept the effort, but also promote the concept to enable the curriculum enjoy the desired acceptance within and outside the country. Parents should try their best and master the portal for the benefit of their children. Government has done its own part by introducing the portal and it is left for parents and stakeholders to also contribute their quota by promoting the concept.