Lagos State yesterday said it upskilled over 18,000 headteachers and teachers from analogue to digital, using tablets and updated curricula.
It said it achieved this feat through EKOEXCEL, an innovative technology initiative launched in 2019 by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu
Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB) Chairman, Wahab Alawiye-King, in a statement, felicitated teachers on 2022 Teachers’ Day.
The board pledged to further upskill teachers through EKOEXCEL.
It said the EKOEXCEL initiative also captured over 14,000 teachers from 1,012 primary schools and enhanced the teacher-pupil interaction through technology (eLearning) in primary schools.
This year’s Teachers’ Day’s theme is: ‘The transformation of education begins with teachers’.
Alawiye-King, whose board has oversight over EKOEXCEL, hailed teachers’ “invaluable role” in educating Lagos pupils.
He said during and after COVID-19, Lagos teachers demonstrated uncommon commitment to improving pupils with diligence.
Alawiye-King praised the “excellent” relationship between teachers under the EKOEXCEL programme, their parent body, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the board, saying it was beneficial to pupils.
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“We can’t thank our teachers enough for their commitment and diligence. Their cooperation has helped in the progress recorded in primary education in Lagos. EKOEXCEL has an excellent relationship with them and NUT. We remain committed to giving pupils quality education that will stand them in good stead in the 21st century,” he said.
According to him, EKOEXCEL’s intervention aided uniformity and strict adherence to the curriculum.
He said teachers’ tablets were preloaded with lessons and content that could be monitored for standardisation across primary schools.
EKOEXCEL recently partnered the state NUT for the maiden annual lecture and award series, with its theme: ‘Development Through Education-Learning and Livelihood’.
NUT Chairman, Hassan Akintoye, attested to the impact of EKOEXCEL, noting that “before the intervention, teaching was analogue. It was based on competence of individual teachers in the classroom, but the level of competence varies from one individual to another.
“The teachers have a standardised digital instrument that leads them to perform their duties. Because of the analogue method, you couldn’t thoroughly ascertain the performance standard, but with highly digitised EKOEXCEL, we now have that standard.
“Then, teaching and learning have become more pupil-centred. As you are teaching, you are also learning. The innovative technology has also enabled the teacher to learn because there is guidance.”