Kuni Tyessi in Abuja
The Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, has expressed commitment of the Commission to proving smart education by promoting innovation and technology enhancement for delivery of quality basic education in the country.
He revealed that already the Commission, through its Digital Resource Centre, is providing technical support for smooth operations of the eleven (11) Smart Schools which had commenced academic activities during the ongoing September 2023/2024 academic session nationwide.
The Smart Schools are located in Bauchi, Benue, Ekiti, Nasarawa, Niger, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kwara, Osun and Oyo States.
Spokesperson of UBEC, Mr. David Apeh, in a statement said Bobboyi spoke at a two-day workshop organized by the Digital Resource Center of the Commission to build and establish partnerships with Edtech startups to provide essential tools for enhancing the quality and relevance of education in the 21st Century.
He noted that there was the need to introduce innovative approaches to delivery of basic education and to familiarize education stakeholders, particularly classroom teachers in Smart Schools, with the Edtech ecosystem.
The Workshop was well attended by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), twenty-one (21) Edtech Startups and eleven (11) teachers from the operational Smart Schools across the country.
“The interactive activity succeeded in identifying areas where UBEC can collaborate with the Startups to provide fresh perspectives and map out strategies for the utilization of technology in delivering quality basic education, especially for the Smart Schools and E-learning programmes of the UBE Commission,” the statement said.
According to the statement the Digital Resource Center of UBEC has embarked on a technical support exercise designed to enhance the capacity of Smart School teachers through constructive feedback and continuous capacity development.
“The Technical support activity focused on observing and identifying areas of challenge in smart education delivery, while providing teachers with one-on-one constructive feedback based on classroom observation.
“This approach provided direct coaching for skill refinement and Professional growth while creating an avenue for knowledge and experience sharing among teachers,” Apeh stated.
