The EkoEXCEL initiative of the Lagos State government has checked truancy and improved attendance by teachers and pupils in public primary schools. However, timing, inadequate teachers, and heavy workload may undermine its gains, KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE reports.
Teaching and learning in 300 of the 1,016 public primary schools in Lagos State have changed since last month’s launch of the Eko EXCEL (Excellence in Child Education and Learning (EkoEXCEL) – the state’s technology-driven initiative to improve learning outcomes.
About 2,000 teachers trained to use the platform now use tablets loaded with prepared lesson notes to teach all subjects, assess, and mark attendance within a specified time.
Classroom interaction has also changed. Teachers now sing more songs; there are various chants and call-up and responses between teachers and pupils aimed at keeping the children’s attention; and there is now a character board where pupils’ cognitive and affective performances are recorded for all to see.
To a large extent, teachers who spoke to The Nation said the changes were positive for them and their learners. However, they are seeking the review of some aspects of the initiative – like the timing and assessment model if the it is to deliver on its promise.
How EkoEXCEL has changed schooling Punctuality
Improving punctuality and checking truancy were two objectives the EkoEXCEL was out to achieve from the start. The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, said at a stakeholder’s meeting before the launch that tablets were geo-located to track teachers and head teachers such that they could not lie about their location.
“The tablet is to assist us to monitor – because that tablet will be geo-referenced. It will determine the coordinates of where you are.
So the moment you turn it on, as the head teacher or as somebody that is monitoring, you see the teacher is within so-so coordinates and what the teacher is teaching.”
It was gathered that the tablet has been achieving just that when this reporter visited some schools in Agege, Ogba, Maryland and Ilupeju. Teachers now report to school well before 7a.m unlike the case before Eko EXCEL.
Head Teacher of St Agnes Peimaey Schoool, Maryland, Prince Felix Orisaheyi, said EkoEXCEL had improved punctuality 100 per cent.
“Punctuality is 100 per cent. Before Eko Excel I resume school 7.45am. But now, I resume by 5.30a.m.; my teachers come in 5.10, 5.20a.m. It is not a joke. Becaseu I have to log in my teachers, I need to be here. There is no way for you to log in at home. It is well designed,” he said.
Assistant Head Teacher of St. Francis School, also in Maryland, Mrs. Ngozi Ade-Mohammed, said it had reduced absenteeism among teachers.
“It has affected attendance. Teachers now come earlier than before. They have to work with time. They are now regular because I won’t allow anyone to sign for another if you are not in school,” she said.
However, it is not only teachers that are now punctual. Teachers are finding that their pupils now come to school early.
Head Teacher of Anwar-Ul-Islam Primary School, Ogba, Agege, Mrs. Bukola Famutimi, said: “Before pupils would come late to school; but since EkoEXCEL started they have been coming early. Their attendance and punctuality have improved.”
Engaging classes
The new mode of delivering the curriculum under EkoEXCEL has changed interaction in the classroom, teachers say.
Mrs. Ade-Mohammed attributed the punctuality among pupils to improved classroom interaction, which the pupils find engaging.
“The children in the upper classes find it so interesting. Teachers say children below average are picking up and doing even better than the brilliant ones.
The energiser, cheers, songs make the children fully engaged. They discuss with their teachers. They are now more regular because of the character board which is used to display the names of those who are punctual, outstanding and well behaved. At the end of each day, they are celebrated,” she said.
Head teacher of Keke Primary School, Agege, Mrs. Oluseyi Ajayi, said her pupils now found learning to be more fun.
“The system of teaching now is different from before. The difference is that it makes education to be fun. When the pupils see teachers with the tablet, they gather round. Writing and copying notes has minimised; now evaluation is immediate,” she said.
Abdulganiyu Obasan, a Primary Four pupil of St. Francis Primary School, said he now finds school more interesting.
“It is interesting and they teach us well than before. They teach us to write faster. They should continue this system,” the nine-year old said.
Challenges Inadequate teachers
With Eko EXCEL not covering all classes in the pilot schools, some children are left out. In each school, Eko EXCEL is operative in the two nursery classes, the Kindergarten, and Primary 1 – 5.
Primary Six is not participating in Eko EXCEL because they would exit the primary school at the end of the session.
However, the likelihood of a class participating in EkoEXCEL in a pilot school is dependent on the availability of teachers.
As teachers close to retirement were not trained for Eko EXCEL not all classes in the pilot schools are implementing the initiative.
Mrs. Famutimi said Primary Five and Six classes in her school were not involved in EkoEXCEL and they feel bad about it.
“We have only six teachers. The Eko EXCEL covers Nursery 1-2, KG and Primary 1-4 in my school. But Primary Five is not involved because we do not have Eko EXCEL teacher.
The teacher taking Primary Five will soon retire so she was not part of the training. There was a time I used my tablet to teach them. They really loved it. But the supervisor attached to the school told me to stop.
Only Pimary 1-4 classes are benefiting from Eko EXCEL at Keke Primary School. Mrs. Ajayi said she has had those left out meet her to ask why.
“They come to me to ask whether they are not part of the school as well. When they hear the songs, they go to watch other classes to learn,” she said.
Heavy workload
If teachers had time to lay about before, that no longer happens in the Eko EXCEL era. Many teachers lamented to The Nation that they work non-stop during school hours, which has been extended by 20 minutes.
This is because the subjects for the day load on the tablets real-time and teachers are expected to follow them one after the other.
Mrs. Famutimi said with EkoEXCEL, teachers teach for a stretch from 8.a.m when classes resume until 11a.m. when they go on break, and continue 20 minutes later until school closes, which she said is not easy on them.
“It is stressful for the teachers. Once they sign in, the teachers stand from 8.am. to 11am. Then afterwards, they stand from 11.20pm until 2p.m. If we can have two teachers per class it will be good.
Mrs. Ade-Mohammed added: “We don’t have enough teachers. In some classes, it is only one teacher. Imagine a teacher would not eat from morning to 11 o’clock! They would be on their feet – like me, I have not eaten today.
We need more teachers, in some classes, we have support staff and they are doing very well. Most clases that have only one teacher needs support teachers to relieve them,” she said.
Apart from the stress on teachers, Mrs Ade-Mohammed said the pupils are also feeling it. School now closes 2.20pm for upper primary pupils and 1.20pm for the younger ones. She noted that the children, especially the young ones lose concentration.
“The nursery classes now have longer learning periods. Primary One goes for break before them. So once the Primary One pupils are out, they lose concentration,” she said.
Mr Rufai Hamzat, a teacher at St. Francis Primary School, said the timing was affecting the pre-school classes.
“Break time has moved. It used to be 11.20; now it is 11.50. for children, that is too far,” he said.
Timing of lessons and assessment
Teachers have complained about the timing allotted to the lessons, which they said is too short. Mr. Hamzat said English and Mathematics are allotted 40 minutes, while other subjects get between 25 and 30 minutes.
Mrs. Florence Olugbo of St Francis said teachers are expected to teach nine subjects a day, which has been a struggle.
Read Also: LASUBEB chair seeks support for EKOEXCEL
She lamented that since a topic disappears once the time allotted is up, the pupils end up not completing notes and tasks before they are forced to move on.
“The subjects are too much for one day. We have nine subjects in a day. If it is six, it will be good. There is usually no time for the pupils to assimilate what we are teaching them,” she said.
Hamzat said he discovered that the time indicated in the tablets for each period was shorter than allotted to them.
“The time allocated is 30 minutes but when I calculated what is stated on the tablet, the time is more than 40 minutes. In English for instance, 40 minutes is not even enough to teach comprehension.
The teacher is expected to read, then the children would read, before they answer the questions. The timing does not work.
I suggest that the timing should be adjusted. Subjects like English and Mathematics should get more time. To do so, you have to reduce the number of subjects done each day,” he said.
To cope with the short timing, Mrs. Bernice Ogundiran, who teaches Primary Two at Ilupeju Primary School, Ilupeju, said she does not rub off notes from the board as required by the tablet.
“The time for lessons is too short for the children to finish writing. Some are not so fast. I usually leave the notes on the board so they can copy later when we have to move on to another subject,” she said.
Regarding assessment, Mrs. Olugbo said that the tablet gave no room for corrections.
“The tablet will tell us to give assessment but there is no room for corrections. Even if we give homework, the next day, we are supposed to treat it first before the day’s topic but there is no time for it on the time table.
Also, the tablet gives answers for assessments without workings so the pupils do not know how it arrived at the answer,” she said.
Head teacher of St. Francis, Mrs. Lydia Balogun on her part faulted the Eko EXCEL tablet for short lesson notes and giving only theory questions, which she said was not suitable for assessing young children.
“Sometimes the lesson notes are not explicit. They do not explain enough and teachers are bound to adhere strictly to them.
Also, the assessment for the children is purely theory. They should use objective questions like is done even at BECE, WAEC and UTME levels. We noticed that some of the textbooks recommended by the tablet are not available.
Speaking on the theory-only assessment format used by Eko EXCEL, Hamzat said it affected pupils’ performance in the first tests they did this term.
“Most of the questions we did were -‘define, fill in the blanks;… They should use objectives at this time. Some of these children know these things but cannot put it down.
In Yoruba, they did well than in other subjects. This is because in Yoruba we were required to read the questions to them. They also had options to choose from. If it was the same for other subjects, I think they would do better,” he said.
SUBEB responds
Chairman, Lagos State Universal Education Board (LASUBEB, Wahab Alawiye-King, said the board was aware that the implementation of the EkoEXCEl would not be without challenges, saying that there would be changes.
“This is the teething stage and most of the challenges you observed, we have equally observed. We are using this to plan for the next stage of training,” he said.
On inadequate teachers, Alawiye-King said the recruitment of 2,000 more teachers and conversion of 1,000 non-academic teachers who had acted as support teachers over the years and were qualified was in progress.
He also said the state had initiated a policy that would ensure teachers are replaced yearly as older ones retire.
However, he urged the teachers to be innovative and embrace the workload as it was not the same as the regular 9 to 5 jobs.
“Policies sometimes have unintended effects. we want the teacehrs to be innovative in the delivery of the lessons. The time on task is also about time management.
You must be able to work within the time alloted. Do not forget we are following the curriculum and there is a syllabus to be covered. It is based on this the time was assigned,” he said.
Nevertheless, the SUBEB boss said all concerns would be addressed. He also said a new batch of teachers would be trained during the Easter holidays to roll out the EkoEXCEL initiative in 200 more schools next term.
The teachers from the remaining schools would be trained over the end of session vacation between July and September.
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