From Blessing Ibunge, Port Harcourt
The Rivers State Ministry of Education has said that the digital learning programme anchored by the state government will be sustained beyond physical resumption of schools.
The State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Kaniye Ebeku, stated this in a media parley to commemorate the 2020 International Literacy Day.
Ebeku advocated for full introduction of digital learning in the Nigerian education system, noting that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the lapses of the educational system.
He said: “E-learning has come to stay with us and it will be a sad day as it is now, if we open face to face and we go back to the way we used to do things normally and do not bother about pursuing the other stream of learning.
“Under my watch, I will still need people to do what I know is needed. With the capacity that has been built, I know we are ready to run”.
Speaking on the theme: “Literacy teaching and learning in the Covid19 crises and beyond, especially the role of educators and new pedagogies”, Ebeku observed that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the deficiency of the conventional learning style.
He said: “We suddenly found ourselves in a crisis situation caused by Covid-19 and this crisis has impacted negatively in our system by forcing schools to shut down, adding it would be unfair to return to the old pattern of teaching without incorporating the new stream of learning.
“E-learning has come to stay with us. We cannot return to the old pattern of learning. It will be a sad day not to bother to pursue the other stream of learning.”
Ebeku explained further that the introduction of digital learning in schools shortly after the outbreak of the virus in the country by the Rivers State government is to mitigate the impact on the future of the Rivers’ students.
He explained that “as a state government as we were trying to make sure that Covid-19 does not compromise the future of our students. We deployed digital learning through radio and television to reach out to the people and break the barriers caused by the pandemic.”
