By Ngwuoke Ngwuoke
The new education policy introduced by the Mbah administration in Enugu State is in tandem with global trends to introduce innovative technologies in education.
The Secretary to the State Government, Prof Chidiebere Onyia announced this Thursday in a keynote address entitled: “Smart Basic Education and the Future of Africa” at a quadrennial convention of Union Secondary School Awkunanaw Enugu Old Boys Association.
Onyia told his audience that the education policy of the present administration is geared towards contributing to the bio-digital-technology that would drive the fourth industrial revolution across the globe through the introduction of innovative technologies in education, particularly in the state’s basic education system.
He said the administration had taken some deliberate steps at reforming the education system to meet the much needed changing global demands.
“We conducted a Baseline Assessment of our primary schools in Enugu State in November 2023. Our findings were shocking. After four years of primary schooling, 50% of our children cannot read a single word in English. Those who can read struggle with comprehension. After six years of primary schooling, 50% of our children cannot solve simple subtraction challenges. What we found out in Enugu State is similar across our nation.
“In Nigeria, 3 out of 4 children who complete basic education lack numeracy and literacy proficiency. The World Bank, UNICEF, and UNESCO have defined this as ‘the Nigerian Learning Crisis.’ On top of this, our children suffer a ‘Skills Gap’ because existing modes of rote teaching do not equip children with scientific, technological, productive, and digital competences,” he observed.
Onyia said that the challenges were being addressed by the well-thought out radical policy-initiatives by the state government which would not only equip students with emerging future technological skills, but would also afford them opportunities to compete with their peers globally.
He explained that with the introduction of the smart school model across the 260 electoral wards in the state, which has new facilities such as the centre for artificial intelligence, interactive smart boards, centre for robotics, among others, the state is set to lead in the fourth industrial revolution, adding that the academic curricula would now emphasize on experiential learning methods, problem-solving and case studies.
“In Enugu State, we now believe that in addition to providing continuous training and professional development to teachers within the school systems, we must also transform how teachers teach, as well as how students learn, by adopting Experiential Learning, as a robust and lasting solution to the learning crisis and skills gap. Experiential Learning requires multi-sensory instruction to support project- or solutions-based learning beyond classrooms. It requires introducing innovative technologies in education, encouraging children to engage in experimentation, critical inquiry, and research early in life, and supporting them to solve real life problems as a normal part of their education experience.
“This is the only way that our education system can create a skilled labour force that can contribute to the emerging fourth industrial revolution. Experiential Learning is the pathway for Africa’s youth to become leading global citizens.
“The objective is to build the human capital of Enugu State, which will enable us to increase our GDP from $4.4b to $30b USD per annum and achieve zero poverty headcount over the next four to eight years.
“This revolution begins with the establishment of Smart Green Schools, one in each of the 260 wards within the State. Each Smart Green School will be equipped with an internet system, a robotics and artificial intelligence centre, a modern ICT centre, two science laboratories, a hybrid multimedia library, a technology laboratory, a creative production studio, 25 inclusive classrooms with digital white boards, and 700 android tablets,” Prof Onyia stated.
