A redesigning of school curriculum in Nigeria to meet the 21st century demands is urgently needed, called stakeholders at this year’s African Edutech Conference.
The stakeholders at the conference organized by the Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) and Education First Nigeria Limited (Edufirst.ng), also tasked the government to begin to set machineries in place, stressing that a rethink of the future of the country’s education has becomes necessary.
Speaking on the essence of the conference, President of NBCC, Mrs. Bisi Adeyemi noted that the conference was designed to explore the role of technology in the education sector and showcase the innovation and creativity of our young people.
According to her, it is imperative for Nigeria, and Africa at large to rethink its vision of the future of education and take practical steps towards adopting a blended learning approach to reposition education in Africa and ensure our students remain competitive in the age of globalization.
“With over 70% of its population under the age of 30, Africa has one of the youngest population in the world. The infrastructure deficit has resulted in a significant skills gap amongst our young population,” she said.
She believes that a key factor that is shaping the future of education in Africa is Technology, explaining that with mobile penetration now standing at over 50%, the story of increasing technology adoption in Africa continues to break records.
“No doubt driven by the young “mobile-first” generation, children in Africa are becoming digitally literate at a very early age, further underlining the massive opportunity technology represents for education.”
“It is therefore imperative that as a nation and indeed, as a continent, we rethink our vision of the future of education and take practical steps towards adopting a blended learning approach to reposition education in Africa and ensure our students remain competitive in the age of globalization,” she argued further.
Highlight of the event included student innovative tech showcase by the students of Queens College and the Federal Government College, Ikirun. Mr. Seyi Adeyemi, Chairman, Learning, Education & Training (LET) Group, NBCC steered the ship of the occasion. Mr. Tayo Sowole, VP Marketing & Distribution, uLesson , Shahneila Saeed, Programme Director, Digital Schoolhouse , Janet Adetu, Chief Executive Officer, JSK Consulting Group, Moderator – Foluso Gbadamosi, Executive Director, JA Nigeria, who discussed Education Beyond Walls. Mr Toyin Olatayo, MD, UNITesCisco, Dr Adewale Obadare, Co-Founder, Digital Encode Limited Moderator – Elizabeth Olofin, Chief Executive Officer, ThistlePraxis Consulting Limited deliberated on the Cost of Adopting Technology.
The topic of :Curriculum Innovation and Delivery” was handled by Mrs Amelia Dafeta, Director of Education, Corona Schools Trust Council, Mrs Feyisara Ojugo, Principal, Greensprings School Lekki , Mr Foluso Aribisala, Chief Executive Officer, Workforce Group Moderator – Mr. Sola Oluwadare, Head Corporate Communications, Skool Media Group.
