Experts Urge African Governments to Prioritise Technology for Educational Growth

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Education experts on Tuesday called on African governments to prioritise the adoption of technology in their respective country’s educational system.

Brainstorming in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, during the 7th African Edu-Tech Conference, where they engaged in panelist sessions to map out effective ways to make the education system better and deliver results.

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The event organised by Edufirst Nigeria, with support from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Nigerian – British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) was a three-day function that aimed at enhancing teaching and learning, improved accessibility and preparedness of the continent’s future workforce for the demands of the digital age.

It seeks to explore cutting-edge EdTech solutions through engagement in meaningful discussions, and benefit from the diverse experiences of participants.Some of the stakeholders at the conference concurred that by embracing digital solutions, the African continent can enhance quality in education and accessibility, foster economic growth and competitiveness, develop a skilled and adaptable workforce, bridge the digital divide, as well as secure a brighter future for its citizens.

Co-host and Executive Secretary of UBEC,Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, underscored the relevance of emerging technologies in advancing knowledge and educational achievement especially at the basic school level.

“Our strong desire to host the Conference is borne out of the realization that the only sure way to transform basic education in Nigeria and align with the needs of the century we are living in, is to pervasively use the newly emerging education technologies that this Conference is spearheading, he said.

He added that the Commission keyed into the conference because its was convinced that the frontiers of digital development in Nigeria can be pushed further and faster through public-private partnership.

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The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, represented by the Senior Education Adviser, British High Commission, Ian Attfield, stressed the need to build an effective African education technology ecosystem.He noted that EdTech is dynamic, contextual and does not exist in a vacuum, rather it “involves more than hardware and connectivity”.

The Executive Director, Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling (CENDLOS), Nana Gyamfi Adwabour, lauded Nigeria for infusing digital skills into its new curriculum for basic schools, even as he charged other African countries to borrow a leaf from the country.

Adwabour emphasised the need for the continent to transit from theory-based education system to practicals.“It (the new curriculum) is good, he said.

XTo develop in any African country, Technical Vocational Educational Training (TVET) has to be improved. That is how employability can come. The kids should be creators to employ themselves.

“Other African countries should emulate that. Before you can do that, your curriculum has to be supported. It has to be standard based. So I applaud Nigeria for doing that.

“At first, most African countries were using objective based. That is more teachers dominant, making kids very docile. In Ghana, we have a standard based curriculum which makes kids explore to do more project-based learning and experimentation.

“We have infused into them that if you fail, it is part of the process”, he stated.

The Manager, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Nigeria office, David Nkwa, said African countries can upscale technology in schools by ensuring its acceptance and adoption among teachers, parents and community leaders through inclusive deployment processes.

According to him, successful adoption can be achieved by engaging stakeholders throughout the process, enabling seamless scaling-up of technology to neighbouring communities and states.

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