NTI to Fed Govt : address fall in education quality

By Damola Kola-Dare

The Lagos State Coordinator, National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Dr. Kayode Jegede, has urged the Federal Government to address a further decline in the quality of education service delivery by boosting virtual learning infrastructure.

In an interview with The Nation, he noted that the fortunes of education had dipped even before the arrival of COVID-19 forced school closures.

To arrest the decline, Jegede called on the government to boost virtual learning infrastructure in the country to keep learners actively engaged.

He advised school proprietors to make the best use of virtual learning adding that COVID-19 had brought about a digital revolution in education.

“The government should channel efforts into boosting the virtual learning infrastructure for students to have proper access to learning.

“School managers at different levels should also be encouraged to think outside of the box to make optimal use of virtual and online learning for their students.

Also they should encourage their students to avail themselves the maximum benefits of various government online, TV and radio programmes to guide against a further fall in standard of education.  As soon as the school resumes, they should try to also cover lost ground,” he said.

Jegede, however, warned that the government should not re-open schools in a hurry.

“As per the coronavirus, we are now in a stage of community transmission.  It is good the government is conscious of the fact that if schools are re-opened, it may lead to exponential increase in the numbers of affected Nigerians,” he said.