The pro chancellor of the Nassarawa State University, Adamu Baikie has encouraged parents and their wards to embrace e-learning system in this period of coronavirus which will help children not to be idle.
Prof. Adamu, who was speaking on Channels television News at 10, said at this time of a new normal, the e- learning option can be effective as it is evolving, which will required a lot of planning.
“ e-learning in itself is a very evolving exercise and it involves a lot of planning to make it effective, and if anything, it is being introduced at this point in time without adequate planning you will find that only a section of the academic programme of the schools will be attended to, very little is being done in the e-learning system that is now in vogue, but by and large, it is a welcome development and I hope this would be seen as a first step to indeed expanding the horizon of the e-learning system .i want to say e-learning system in the sense of know it now as against what we use to know before is not new in the educational system of Nigeria”
The Prof. of Education further explained that e-learning has been part of the educational package of the country.
“e-learning is not a separate system from the educational package of the country, it is part and parcel of the education system of the country and it should be re-package in such a way that when the time of e-learning comes, it is teaching what is already in the curriculum of the schools. The injection of the e-learning in the present emergency situation is a welcome development, the students who have been following the programme seems to be liking it,
it keeps them busy and they are learning a lot from it, I think we should go ahead to explore the opportunity it present and make good use of it.”
However, the e-learning option has presented parents with the challenges of making provision for devices for their children that will be needed for e-learning classes, but Prof. Adamu insisted that all devices and facilities needed must be available for e-learning to make the desired impact.
“if we are going to embark on e-learning there is no option than to take care of all these points, it is not a joke, you either do it and do it well or you don’t get involve at all. If e-learning is going to have an impact, all the component parts that constitute before e-learning delivers shall be available, otherwise, I think it is better to stay clear in an exercise you cannot see through, or don’t make it National, make it Zonal, maybe areas where you have much out of school children , they should be benefitting from e-learning that will be able to suit their own conditions, and then provide the basic necessities that will enable them to then form whatever that may be thought to them.
E-learning must have teachers who can teach abstractly and make abstract teaching alive, it is very important, if you don’t make it alive, then the students would not listen and the whole thing would collapse”
It we be recalled that the e-learning alternative has presented a new normal in the educational sector, and there have been outcry from parents who could not afford devices that are needed for the classes, also, unavailability of power supply at a time when classes are on has been a challenge, parents who have devices like smart phones for their children are faced with high cost data.
These indices will have to come to fruition if the e-learning system would be effective and impactful in the Nigeria educational sector.
