Governments and stakeholders in the education sector have been urged to invest in solar energy and cut taxes on laptops and mobile phones to promote education technology (EdTech) in the country.
A group of young Nigerians with concerns for educational advancement, under the aegis of the Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI), gave the advice in Ilorin, Kwara State capital.
The occasion was the unveiling of fact sheet and research, titled “Harnessing Education Technology in Africa”.
Speaking during the event, BBYDI director, Olasupo Abideen, said government should partnership with telecom providers to provide free data bundles for learners to access learning content online would be a game- changer.
He said Nigeria should use the last Covid-19 pandemic experience to prepare for future occurrence adding that the country can’t afford to be cut off guard again on such emergencies.
EdTech, he noted, is not only a stopgap solution for emergency situation or pandemic, but has the potential to transform education and make it more accessible, personalized and effective for all students.
According to him, “for EdTech to work, significant investment in alternative sources of energy like solar is needed to address lack of electricity in most schools in rural and the urban areas.
“Tax relief on EdTech gadgets such as laptops, projectors, desktop computers, and mobile phones will promote affordability”, he added
While noting that teachers should be trained on how they could use EdTech tools in classroom activities, BBYDI urged “government to partner with telecom providers to provide free data bundles for learners to access learning content online”.
The group said with such move, a Nigeria “where every student has access to high-quality digital learning materials, personalized learning opportunities, and the support of skilled teachers, is the power of education technology and it is within our reach”.
“EdTech should be considered an effective mechanism for supporting learning, whether or not there is a pandemic.
“Schools should, from time-to-time, deploy EdTech in the day-to-day class activities and pursue the one-pupil-one tablet policy to address EdTech gap in schools”, he added.
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