Presenter:
Good evening, ma’am. We have discussed many education issues on this programme. This week, we believe we have also extended our invitation to the appropriate person to look out how standard education could be provided in this era of social and technological change. Before go into that, let us with the issue of election, a burning issue in the country. Ma’am, in what way has the postponement of the election affected your school calendar?
Guest:
Well, the postponement does not tamper with our academic calendar because the school is already on a midterm break between February 14 and February 24. The election is February 23.
Presenter:
Thank you, ma’am. Let us go back to our discussion for this this week. Going through your profile, we discovered that you possess a certificate in Technology Education. Ma’am, to what extent has technology disrupted education?
Guest:
I do not think technology has disrupted education in anyway. Rather, it has enriched our education. It has played a significant role in education. And Nigerians are benefitting from the advantages technology has brought to education. What we need to understand is that the benefit of technology to education depends on what every individual does with the technology because there are so many things to learn through technology.
Presenter:
That is lovely, ma’am. Let us move to our next question. This change seems to be a struggle between a school system and the real world. How authentic is this assertion?
Guest:
The truth of the matter is that we have entered another world. People are so much online. It has become the reality of our time. They do everything online. More importantly, we have to prepare the Nigerian students to compete globally and not locally. Thankfully enough, technology has successfully broken down all the barriers to achieving this. You can visit any country of your choice at any time of the day. You explore the country to get whatever you need. We cannot separate technology from our education system. The most important thing is to educate one another – the students and the teachers – on how to maintain a balance.
Presenter:
Thank you for that submission. Before we talk about activation, I understand that there are barriers to the activation. Could we quickly discuss those barriers, especially in the Nigerian Context?
Guest:
Yes, a few years ago, many people had little or no access to technology because of certain procedures involved. Though lack of access slows us down a bit in Nigeria, I do not see it as a serious challenge. I am using this word aggressively- now, the people who can afford the technology should be able to afford all of these accesses entirely. Unfortunately, a lot of do not have access to the technology.
Presenter:
How do manoeuvre ourselves through all these challenges?
Guest:
We have to be realistic with ourselves. We must play politics with education. Our leaders must realise this. It should be noted that everything needed to upgrade the students to acquire 21st century learning must be provided. There are several challenges hindering access to technology. For instance, power, data are a major challenge.
Presenter:
Another issue I would like us to look into is the issue of morality among students. It appears morality has been thrown into the gutters. What is your reaction to that?
Guest:
An issue needs to be addressed. It is relatively easier for us at The City of Knowledge Academy. What we have done is to train the students’ character building through array of activities. We also make them realise the importance of virtuous character that is in line with our culture. Take for instance; this character building is integrated into both the Nigerian curriculum. Our curriculum is rich. The only thing it needs is to review its contents to meet up with 21st century standard. In the British curriculum, there is what is called Social and Emotional Education. It was found out that their social values are being tampered with and they needed to prevent them from extinction. Moreover, at City of Knowledge Academy, we have what is called PSHE: Personal, Social, Health and Economic education. I know every school has a suitable method devised to teach morality.
Presenter:
Amazing! Ma’am, let us quickly look at some of the solutions to the challenges confronting our education system?
Guest:
Anywhere you go all of over the world there are private schools. There are parents who are dissatisfied with the education provided by the government. In other countries, the existence of private schools does not affect the quality of education in public schools. However, the problem is that the quality of education in public school is declining. Our government needs to focus on public education.
