The Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) has partnered with the Ibironke Adeagbo Foundation to facilitate digital education through the distribution of electronic learning devices to pupils in southwestern Nigeria.
Development Diaries gathered that a trustee of the foundation, Diran Famakinwa, and the Director-General of DAWN, Seye Oyeleye, while addressing the media, acknowledged that the closure of schools, due to the spread of Covid-19, had changed the education sector in Nigeria.
They stressed that the learning devices, which are preloaded with school syllabus in reading, writing, and mathematics, will bring education to the intended audience at the lowest affordable cost.
According to Famakinwa, the foundation teamed up with DAWN because the two organisations have similar ideas.
‘Lagos State pioneered some mobile devices that come with six preloaded school syllabuses as well as the data credit to be able to make sure that the children, while they are remotely at home, can continue their education’, he said.
‘So, in partnership with DAWN, we decided that the broad knowledge and everything that happened in Lagos needs to be shared across the entire southwest region.
‘We invested in purchasing these devices that would be shared across other states that have not been able to use this and we would be working with them to get feedback.
‘The device is for every child and it comes with preloaded school syllabus as well as the credit.
‘We feel this is a step in the right direction for those children that are currently not able to continue their education’.
On his part, the DG of DAWN, Oyeleye, said that the future suddenly arrived with the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that the introduction of the learning device was to ensure that no child is left behind due to the pandemic.
He said, ‘In the quest to make sure that everyone is carried along, we said let us have an irreducible minimum of digital education soon the kids will have access to.
‘Because we know that we [cannot] afford the high-end digital education that is being provided in Europe, we looked at our peculiarities and asked how can we bring this education to the people at a lowest affordable cost’.
He also confirmed that DAWN was working with other organisations to actualise the digital education initiative.
Source: NewSpeak
Photo source: SIM USA
