A former Nigerian Ambassador to the Royal Kingdom of Netherlands, Dr Nimotalahi Nihinlola Akanbi, says improvement on e-learning is critical to having a good and sound education in the country.
She observed that COVID-19 outbreak lent credence to the call to deepen digital literacy because it helped many nations to continue learning virtually while some others got stuck during the pandemic.
Dr Akanbi, a former Chairman and Pro-Chancellor of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, said this in Ilorin on the sidelines of 2023 North Central Mandatory Continuing Professional Training Programme (MCPT) of All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS).
She explained that Nigeria would have to consolidate on its pedagogy in education with prioritization of digital literacy for teachers and students to be acquainted and inclined with the current trend in the education sector.
“Let me use this opportunity to appeal to government at all levels to prioritize training and retraining of teachers. This is necessary for them to be kept abreast of happenings in teaching profession. Training in teaching profession cannot be a one-off thing but a continuum. This is because learning is from cradle to grave.
“It is also important that professional teachers be introduced into digital literacy to enhance their skills in the digital world. An incontrovertible truth today is that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) rules the world and a people whose job is to impart and build future leaders should not be left out,” she added.
Dr Nimotalahi Akanbi bagged an award of excellence in recognition of her contributions to the growth of ANCOPSS in Kwara State, North Central Zone and Nigeria as a whole at the event.
The ANCOPSS Zonal Chairman, North Central, Ogiri Christopher, said 40 years of service be extended to teachers in the zone in the interest of good learning for students.
Ogiri said, “I want to make passionate appeal that 40 years of service be extended to all states in North Central. It will help us to continue to do all we can do to younger ones. Education is not a one-man show; it is an activity that involves everybody.
“This training is for our teachers to be equipped so that they will be able to face the challenges of education”.
The ANCOPSS President in Kwara State, Usman Umar Abdullahi; and a former Secretary of ANCOPSS in the state, Umar Salihu Balogun Gambari, called for training and retraining of teachers to enhance their professional and managerial efficiency.
