COVID-19: BBYDI Asks FG To Review Education Curriculum
By Tijani Rasheed
…Says ‘Some Lecturers are Not Digitally Literate’
The Brain Building Youth Development Initiative ( BBYDI) has called for review of education curriculum in Nigeria to embrace digital trends.
The Executive Director of BBYDI, Olasupo Abideen made this call while unveiling Policy Brief titled ‘Ride to Remote: Towards Improving Nigeria’s Education System amidst COVID-19’ at DHub, Ilorin in Kwara State.
According to Olasupo, the policy brief assessed the impacts of COVID-19 on Nigeria’s education system and offered recommendations to relevant authorities and stakeholders.
His words: “First, we implore the Federal Government to review education curriculum. This is to ensure that learning and learning methods meet current realities.
The FG is also urged to improve accreditation criteria for Higher Education Institutions. The National University Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and other accrediting agencies should include digital latency as part of accreditation criteria for higher institutions.
“Improving digital frontiers of higher institutions should not be at the behest of the school management, rather, it should be a legal mandate, for the establishment and maintenance of the institutions.”
The organization in the research conducted through Google form questionnaire and Focus Group discussions that featured youth and student leaders from tertiary institutions across the country, discovered that some lecturers are not digitally literate.
They therefore called for training of lecturers on digital skills, provision of infrastructure for virtual education and inclusion of remote learning option in higher institutions.
BBYDI in the report of research supported by Global Campaign for Education implored young people to avoid physical isolation, leverage digital platforms to access opportunities and identity as well solve problems using indigenous methods.
While giving insight into the policy, Olasupo who is also an SDGs Global Ambassador said: “The abrupt closure of schools therefore resulted to learning losses and increased inequality in accessing education for students, particularly in the northern part of the country and other disadvantaged communities.
However, as time went by, school authorities began to adopt digital learning system which allowed teachers to reach their students remotely and continue with learning activities.
“As an organization that has always engaged in advocacy towards expanding access to education in Nigeria, we were deeply worried about the negative impacts of Covid-19 on the country’s education system. This informed our collaboration with the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) to carry out a youth-focused research to assess the effect of the pandemic on our education sector, how it has affected the work environment and proffer recommendations that will guide policy actors and stakeholders on building a more resilient, well-functioning and inclusive education system for the benefit of students and overall development of our country.”
He revealed that many respondents learned skills including Data analysis, graphics design, product design, video editing, content writing, coding, among others during COVID-19 lockdown.