By Aderemi Bamgbose
An educationist, Mrs Oluwatoyin Yerokun, on Thursday appealed to federal and state governments to invest more in Information Communication Technology (ICT) to improve the nation’s education system post-COVID-19 pandemic.
The educationist stressed the need to employ the services of more computer science teachers across primary, secondary and tertiary institutions to effectively impart better knowledge to their students online in case of the unexpected.
Yerokun, a Principal Lecturer at the Federal College of Education, (Technical), Asaba, Delta State, spoke during a public lecture organised by DARTA Educational and Business Agency.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the public lecture was titled “The Role of Computer Science Teachers in Revamping the Nigerian Education System After COVID-19 Lockdown”.
Yerokun, a guest lecturer, noted that the Federal Government was in the middle of resolving the crisis with Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) when the COVID-19 became a global issue.
She said that the pandemic eventually led to the shutting down of institutions of learning, while academic activities came to halt.
The educationist said private institutions, which were digitally equipped, immediately moved their learning and teaching online following the directives of federal and states ministries of education, but some government institutions were unable to follow suit because of lack of digital equipment.
According to her, the pandemic was not supposed to affect academic activities, especially in public institutions, if the government at all levels had equipped all institutions digitally and teachers were ICT compliant.
“Massive investment in ICT will assist to help our teachers to take up the challenges, to instruct their colleagues on how to take online classes in their respective fields after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Regular ICT training for teachers will also help teachers’ capability to use digital devices as a means for educational delivery in teachings, assessments and evaluation.
“This will also help the students, who mostly lack the capability on the other side, to learn, study, receive instruction, submit assignments and give feedback online.
“So, it is imperative, therefore, that computer science teachers be employed at all levels to train teachers and students to effectively use their digital devices, especially webinars, to bridge the gap of class teachings,” Yerokun said. (NAN)