Nigeria: Edo Launches Online Learning Platform

By Development Diaries
May 7, 2020

As nations around the world continue to adhere to stay-at-home directives in order to minimise the spread of Covid-19, the Edo State government in a bid to enable pupils learn from downloadable online resources while at home, has launched an online homeschooling platform, Edo-BEST@Home.

The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, during the launch said the initiative was part of the state’s plan to ensure that students are engaged in academic activities despite not being able to resume for the new term due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Obaseki in his statement said the initiative is an extension of the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) programme, which is to be supported with mobile tutors to provide daily lessons on the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) website for parents and guardians to keep their children occupied.

Obaseki said, ‘I remain committed to the provision of quality education for all as the new academic calendar begins during this period of partial lockdown. It is my pleasure to announce that we have provided an alternative source of schooling for our children and it is called Edo-BEST@Home’.

He added that his administration first introduced the use of technology in the state’s primary school system with Edo-BEST two years ago. He said over 280,000 children in the state are already familiar with the technology-based learning model, while 11,000 teachers and education managers have been trained on digital teaching models and learning methods.

The programme will offer four hours of learning content daily with MTN Nigeria, the state’s mobile technology partner, who will provide zero-data access and a two-way Short Message Service (SMS) at no cost to parents.

The governor said so far, over 40,000 users have accessed lessons on the SUBEB website.

Edo-BEST@Home will comprise of interactive audio lessons with customised messaging, phone-based interactive quizzes, digital storybooks, classroom interactions, virtually moderated teachers, and self-study activity packs.

Source: This Day