8000 (Eight thousand) Nigerian school children have benefited from the South Korea – Nigeria Smart Education project across 21 states in the country.
Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Aisha Garba made the announcement at the closing ceremony of the Project, held in Abuja, Nigeria on Monday.
Dr. Garba said the project operated by KOICA, a South Korea company which focused on six smart schools, however, reached over 8,000 learners in 21 states where the smart schools were fully operational.
“You will all agree with me that these are more than numbers. They are lives touched, futures reshaped, and a growing belief that our public schools can compete globally. Our administration is not just talking change, we are executing it by transforming basic education, one reform at a time”, she said.
She said although the Project for the implementation of Multimedia Learning Environment and Teaching Capacity Building for Nigeria Public Primary and Junior Secondary Schools is being closed, UBEC is celebrating a transformational journey.
“One that has redefined the landscape of basic education through technology, innovative teaching, and inclusive learning,” she said.
According to her, when the project began in 2021, the nation was confronted with sobering realities: over 10.1 million school-age children were out of school, 70% of those enrolled lacked foundational learning skills.
“However, in collaboration with KOICA and other strategic partners, basic education in Nigeria achieved significant milestones.
“We developed Nigeria’s first Smart Education Master Plan, trained over 300 teachers and school leaders, established six world class Content Development Studios, and created nearly 4,000 digital learning contents in Mathematics and Science.
“This is in addition to the independent effort undertaken by the Commission to build 37 UBE Model Smart Schools (1in each state and FCT). Six of which KOICA intervened and supported as earlier reiterated”, she said.
Smart Education
She noted that through the collaboration with KOICA and other strategic partners, the Commission has developed Nigeria’s first Smart Education Master Plan, trained over 300 teachers and school leaders, established six world class Content Development Studios, and created nearly 4,000 digital learning contents in Mathematics and Science.
“This is in addition to the independent effort undertaken by the Commission to build 37 UBE Model Smart Schools (1 in each state and FCT). Six of which KOICA intervened and supported as earlier reiterated.”
The UBEC Boss therefore appreciated
KOICA and the Government of the Republic of Korea for the laudable support.
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Garba also revealed that through strategic reforms since her assumption of office, the Commission has removed long-standing bottlenecks and opened the door for states to access the resources they need, efficiently and transparently.
She lamented that for more than 20 years, a rigid action plan made it nearly impossible for states to access matching grants.
“We have changed that and the impact is already visible with about 3 million children impacted, fund utilisation has exceeded 60%, about 420,009 library materials distributed, more than 158,000 Nigerian History books delivered, 740 interactive smart boards, 250 desktop computers for girls’ alternative high schools and 140 talking computers for learners with special needs,” she stated.
Digital Education Transformation
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu said the $10million funded project was to help achieve systematic digital education transformation in Nigeria, its objectives were to develop a UBEC-Smart School for Nigerian Basic Education, increase the capacity of teachers in the use and development of ICT content and improve access to quality ICT teaching contents in the classroom.
“Key outcomes of the project include the development of a robust framework for smart education in Nigeria. This framework includes the identification of the right fit model which has been implemented during the first phase of the project.
“This chosen model largely motivated the implementation approach of smart education in Nigeria being guided by success stories from Korea and other parts of Africa while making it fit into Nigeria’s realities and peculiarities,” he said.
Deputy Executive Secretary of UBEC (Technical), Mr. Razaq Akinyemi Olajuwon, in his presentation of overview of the UBEC-KOICA smart education project, said it aims to revolutionise education by incorporating technology into learning environments.
He noted that the initiative has increased the capacity of teachers in the use and development of ICT content and improve access to quality Information and Communication Technology teaching contents in the classroom.
The Manager, KOICA Nigeria Office, David Nkwa, said the project in the last five years, has improved quality education in Nigeria, especially improving learning outcomes at the basic level.