The Nigerian Government is partnering with Anthology, a US-based number one AI Tech company in the world, on blackboard technology to aid learning efficiency in the country.
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The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman while receiving in his office, the Anthology delegation in Abuja on Thursday, said the partnership would leverage the limitations of the physical capacity of learning and the inability to access credible learning materials.
Mamman pledged to provide necessary support that would facilitate the progress of the blackboard in the country.
“I am a firm believer of technology, I believe in the efficacy of what we can use technology to achieve.
“We are at the beginning of major reform in the education sector from the basic levels to tertiary levels. We know that physical capacity is a limiting factor but through IT, you can reach practically everybody and we are determined to do it,” he said.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary, of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono explained that the blackboard would establish Centres of Excellence in Nigeria that would be a benchmark for online learning methodologies.
Echono said it would also help the country to be at the forefront of the learning management system saying that “what happened during COVID would not catch us unawares again”.
He added that the blackboard would enroll about 2.2 million student users in Nigeria across the 253 institutions.
He said there is also a plan to enroll other private institutions to increase the target to 3 million students.
“It is a platform that handles everything even from management of the institutions to the process of seeking admission-when you get enrolled to how you finish.
“Also the blackboard can provide content for all the institutions and the real-time engagement that the institutional ecosystem operates.
“It also allows us to be able to benchmark what is happening in other institutions around the globe that are all using the same platforms.
“Blackboard will establish a center of excellence in Nigeria that will be a benchmark on online learning methodologies and this will really help to be in the forefront of a learning management system that what happened during COVID will not catch us unawares again,” he said.
Meanwhile, the President of Anthology, Joe Belenardo, said the blackboard had been tested to provide solutions to students and directors of ICT around the world through skills.
Belenardo explained that the blackboard, a learning management system currently has about 6,000 clients and 150 million students globally and is designed to create additional solutions/innovations, access to network and give business development opportunities for learners.
“With ICT skills, we will make a difference in making the world a better place,” he said.
Also, the Country Director and Channel Partner for Anthology Nigeria, Mr Ladipo Adedeji explained that the system allows students to function adequately both online and offline.
“It’s not just about online learning, the learning management system allows you to function in schools whether it’s online or offline.
“As you will find out, nobody carries lecture notes anymore, nobody submits physical assignments anymore, so this allows lecturers to teach more efficiently, and allows students to learn efficiently in a sensitive way.
“Part of the laudable project that TETFund has done is the issue of subscription that allows each student access to a global library.
“Part of the limitations of a lot of people is that they have no access to credible material but with the platform, the limitation will be addressed.
“The feature of this is that you can learn Yoruba at a university in Brazil. This is taking Nigeria into that 21st/22nd century and that is what TETFund has been able to achieve with this laudable project,” he said.
