Commissioner For Higher Education Distribution Digital Solar E-Learning Equipment To 80 Schools In Plateau
Yakubu Busari
At least no fewer than 80 public Senior Secondary schools in Plateau State are benefit from the solar inverter e-learning model equipment to help boost learning ,as government issue warning against diversion to private use .
The Honourable Commissioner of Education, Mrs ,Elizabeth Petkwap Wapmuk disclosed that the adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and empowerment,AGILE,is an intervention programme for the World Bank with the aim of developing the capacity of girl child and boys with the requisite skills to advance to adulthood as they traverse the learning circle.
She made this disclosure during the distribution of digital skills equipment to Senior Secondary schools in Plateau State held at Gold and Base Jos, North Local Government Council.
According to her, when the world health organization, WHO, declared covid-19 as a global pandemic, It had a significant impact on many different sectors, the education sector being one of them so different measures have been taken by shutting down of schools and use of social distance precautions, and schools of all levels have utilized all their available technical resources to continue their education online.
Wapmuk emphasized that some countries tried to overcome this unexpected crisis through distance education whereas others ,suffered from socioeconomic or digital infrastructure problems .
She stressed that educating girls contributes significantly to the development of a stable ,prosperous ,and healthy nation state whose citizens are active ,productive and empowered .
Mrs Elizabeth disclosed that data indicate that Nigeria has over 5.5 million girls are out of school report by UNESCO in 2014 and 40% women and 28% men have never attended school .
She noted that teaching generally involves the use of resources ,human and materials ,it is an enormous task to build the ICT infrastructure and train the teachers and students at the same time .
“The use of computers and digital technology is a requirement for the future empowerment of our population ,adding without literacy our youth will be at a major disadvantage both economically as well as educationally .
Stressing ,if we fail to provide them with education for employment ,the size of the unemployment problem with dwarf the current situation and bring tremendous hardship with it,” she stated .
Elizabeth pointed out that instead of our students to use pen and paper ,they’re now use software equipment to create presentation which is compared to a stack notebooks ,an iPad is relatively light .
She explained further that the digital literacy &remote learning platform each of the school will have complete equipment of solar power ,solar panels ,inverters ,tubular batteries ,charge controllers .
Adding, twenty ,20, laptops and internet connectivity and other equipment include projectors ,motorists projectors screens ,digital safes to protect the laptops against unwholesome individuals .
She said this equipment would reduce the digital infrastructure gap in the state ,Lalong administration is embarking on massive renovations of public schools .
The Deputy Project Coordinator /Component Leader -Digital Skills ,Mr Dachung Thomas Danjang said about 14,000 students are already beneficiaries of the girl child education program of e-learning model equipment in Plateau state .
He said ,teachers and principals were also train on how to handle the programs in their schools to help boost learning and empowerment of the girls in rural communities .
Thomas revealed that world bank in conjunction with the Plateau state government introduced the programs in 2020 but they kept going back and front .
He maintained that Lalong administration built 55 schools and renovation of the existing one to meet up the yearning of the standard of e-learning equipments .
