ExcitingtimesforeducationinLagos

Exciting times are here for the education sector in Lagos State The huge investments of the government in the sector are beginning to yield concrete dividends

The performance of the State’s students in WASSCE/GCE has significantly improved from 38 79% in 2020 to over 81% in 2021 with a minimum of five credits including Mathematics and English.

In the last three years, the annual budget for the State Ministry of Education is bigger than the total budget of some States in the country

The education Ministry got N133 5 billion in 2020, N146 9 billion in 2021 and N173 5 billion in 2022

According to the Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, about N23 62 billion had been spent on infrastructure development of public schools in the last three years Critical investment in the sector is aimed at ensuring students in the public schools receive quality education in a conducive and friendly environment

In order to sustain the pace of development in the sector, the government recently unveiled a set of technologydriven modular learning spaces, which introduces an innovation to the design of a modern classroom

The nine-classroom block was built to replace decrepit concrete structures in Vetland Junior Grammar School, a government-owned Model College in Agege Local Government Area

The interactive modular classrooms were improvised, using standardised reusable freight compartments, known as container. Each of the classroom compartment is adequately insulated to give comfort and create a conducive ambience for hybrid learning for students

The project is completed with three laboratories and four staff rooms – all made from container There are also recreational facilities, including a five-aside football pitch, a multi-purpose-built court, which can be used for a variety of games, such as volleyball, long tennis, badminton, and basketball

The classrooms and their ancillary facilities have their dedicated energy source, off grid; they are powered by solar panels, which guarantee constant power supply to enable teaching and learning

The IT-enabled modular interactive classrooms would make a lasting impact in the State’s effort to make basic education accessible

The containerised structures were raised on high-density rafts carefully calculated to hold both live and dead loads The floors were made of terrazzo material for durability, while 30 convenience facilities were fitted in the academic area with two composite water-free toilet built for visitors

The rebuilt school also has a water system fitted with a filtration compartment to deliver potable water to the pupils.

"This is the future leaning in public basic education in Nigeria and Africa. The development of containerised modular classrooms is a welcome milestone on our journey towards ensuring that no child is left behind in Lagos."

“Our goal, as a Government, is to build learning spaces of the future, thereby bequeathing public schools that are driven by cutting-edge technology and that can compete favourably with the best schools anywhere in the world ” Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu stated at the unveiling of the modern classrooms

Chairman of the school’s ParentTeacher Association (PTA), Barr Omoyele Akintayo, said with the feat, the State government is championing a new course of transformation in the country.

He said: “I cannot hide my feelings and emotions today. I am highly delighted. There is no amount of encomiums that can be adequately showered on Governor Sanwo-Olu that will be enough to show our appreciation for this world-class innovation”

Mrs Folashade Adefisayo, described the feat as another promise kept by the Governor, noting that the SanwoOlu administration’s education reforms had transformed public schools She said the Model College deserved the gesture, given the academic excellence it had turned out in national examinations over the last three years

“This is an iconic building that will last for ages and transit our children into the 21st century-based knowledge,” the Commissioner said.

The upgrade of the Model College is part of the strategic interventions initiated in the public school system, which have led to the rehabilitation and modernisation of over 200 public schools So far, the Sanwo-Olu administration has constructed more than 800 new classroom blocks as well as supplied about 150,000 units of furniture in the State’s public schools The intervention has scaled up output in teaching and raised academic excellence

The government has also improved security in public schools by installing watchtowers, perimeter fences, panic bells and floodlights It has equally prioritised the comfort of boarding students through the provision of beddings and other necessary items.

Development in the sector is not just about developing infrastructure As the beneficiaries can attest to, the welfare and training of teaching and administrative staff in the public school have received significant attention as well.

The slogan, “Leave No Child Behind” became prominent with the advent of the Eko-Excel initiative, a transformation enterprise of the incumbent administration Eko-Excel, an acronym for “Excellence in Child Education and Learning”, which was rolled out in phases, is planned to help 14,000 Head-Teachers and students embrace digital teaching, using tablets and updated curriculum in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 4

Over 12,000 public primary school teachers have been trained under the pilot scheme, with each of them given a tablet to work with The programme has equipped teachers with skills to deliver value, empower pupils with requisite knowledge to improve education and help in sustaining the State’s image as a leading knowledge driven City-State

Apart from its technological advantage, the initiative provides a multi-dimensional approach to learning, which includes character moulding of pupils from their formative stage. Thus, Character Boards are placed in all public schools to display names of well-behaved and outstanding pupils to engender progressive competition

Recently, 13 outstanding teachers, selected across the State’s six Education Districts were presented vehicles for their passion and deployment of modern techniques to teach pupils The recipients were part of the finalists nominated for the Year 2021 Teachers’ Merit Award by the Screening Committee led by the chairperson of Association of Private Educators in Nigeria, Mrs Lai Koiki

In another development, pioneer students of the new comprehensive school model have received e-Learning Mobile Tablets.

The initiative, which has thus far benefitted 750 students from 12 pilot schools, is to enhance the learning of various vocational skills by beneficiaries.

Emphasising the government’s investment and commitment to the success of the new fit-for-purpose and skill-based school model, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, noted that each teacher and school administrator also received mobile devices that have been preloaded with curriculum content relevant

While stating that the distribution of the mobile devices cut across comprehensive schools within the six Education Districts, Adefisayo added that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s vision is to ensure that recipients of the new school model are equipped with relevant technology/tools and tutorials on self-reliance and adequate skills up to mastery level

The technical consulting team and owners of the SuccessTab brand, led by Oluwakoyejo Oluwatosin of Chronicle Software, said the customised mobile tablets are the first government-backed educational intervention programme in the country where all students and teachers use devices primarily in learning delivery The Lagos State Comprehensive School Programme commenced early this year with 12 pilot schools The Government has also declared its intention to increase the number of schools to 50 schools before the end of year 2022

Comprehensive School students have the option of learning skills up to mastery level in the various subject categories including Agriculture, Tech and Digital Skills, Beauty and Events, Building & Construction, Media and Entertainment, Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing & Sales and Digital Literacy.

Parents have commended the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for the excellent impact of EKOEXCEL, the innovative digital initiative launched by the state government in 2019 to transform public primary schools

The parents expressed their satisfaction at a Parents-Teacher conference, held on recently, in all 1011 public primary schools in Lagos, where they critically assessed activities of the just concluded 2021/2022 academic session

They commended the brilliant showing of three pupils from the state in the National Common Entrance Examination, NCEE, and other benefits of the intervention managed by the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, LASUBEB, Lagos State registered the highest number of candidates with 19,518 out of the 71,518 pupils that sat for the exam for admission into federal unity colleges.

While the overall best student in the NCEE conducted by the National Examinations Council, NECO, scored 201 out of 210, three pupils of Lagos public primary schools were just five points behind Ayomide Daniel Ajayi of Hussey Military Primary School, Yaba, scored 198; Damilola Basit Araba of the same school had 197, and Deborah Ugbaha of St Georges Girls school, Ikoyi, scored 196 Other pupils also had good scores, showing the significant movement of EKOEXCEL pupils towards proficiency by more than 20 per cent of 53 pupils tracked and ascertained to have registered for the NCEE, 32 had excellent grades

Commenting on excellent NCEE performances, parents, challenged those promoted to primary six to emulate the celebrated pupils or even do better next year.

I’m happy with how EKOEXCEL has improved my son. I didn’t expect him to do so well in the exam. The extra hours and curricular activities paid dividends. I hope his junior sister will do better by 2024 when she writes the exam.”

Others, including Alhaji Abubakar, a bureau de change operator, Mohammed Ahmed of the Nigerian Ports Authority, businesswoman Oluwashinaayomi Ada and Nwunu Chioma, also acknowledged their children’s academic improvements

Abubakar said, “My three children in primary four, two and kindergarten are doing well I go to their school to check up with their teachers and am happy with their performance ” Ahmed said, that “my daughter, Aminat, joined in primary one and is now in two She has been doing okay since she joined the school and with the records I have gone through, I see a lot of improvements ”

Ada said, “My child is in primary four, and since the EKOEXCEL program started, she can read, write, and pronounce words that were difficult for her She can form words and sentences ”

Chioma affirmed, “since EKOEXCEL started, I have seen improvements in my three children ”

The three outstanding Lagos pupils in the NCEE also explained how EKOEXCEL’s innovative methodology boosted them.

Damilola Araba said, “EKOEXCEL made it easier for our teachers to teach us, and it has impacted us with modern technology. I’ll advise those getting promotion to primary 6 to study hard and learn to be focussed ”

Ayomide Ajayi enthused, “EKOEXCEL has motivated me to come to school and enabled our teachers to teach us in a new way ”

Deborah Ugbaha noted, “EKOEXCEL makes it easier for our teachers to explain difficult topics to us and improves our understanding I will miss the teaching method ”

Apart from testimonials from parents and pupils, a study, the ‘EKOEXCEL Nigeria 2021-2022 TS Satisfaction Survey Report’, also affirmed that quality education remains a significant driver of the initiative

The EKOEXCEL Insight Team analysed key findings on parents’ perceptions of the programme and found that though the Net Promoter Scores (NPS) fell to 29 from 32 in the previous term, parents still trust the intervention’s quality to recommend it to others 491 of 500 parents said they would keep their child at EKOEXCEL school next term Other parents were also impressed by factors including Good pupil behaviour, academic skills/performance (such as strong English, math abilities), suitable teaching method/pedagogy–and free textbooks/learning materials.

The survey also found that most parents (470 of 500) are either satisfied or delighted with the EKOEXCEL programme 479 of 500 attested to seeing improvement in their child’s quality of education due to the programme Some of the areas parents have seen some improvements are; General – 53 4%, Does homework independently – 35%, Reading/literacy – 33%, Writing – 30 6%, English language skills – 26 4%, Mathematics – 26 4%, Spelling – 23 2% etc

Nobel laureate, Professor Michael Kremer, recently appraised the methodology underpinning the EKOEXCEL program, administered by the program’s technical partners, NewGlobe.

The Nobel Prize-winning economist’s detailed observations on how pupils tutored with the methodology used in EKOEXCEL, gain almost an additional year of learning (0 89) under the NewGlobe integrated methodology, learning in two years what their peers in other traditional schools learn in nearly three

For early childhood development (ECD), the gains were even bigger ECD pupils using the same methodology as EKOEXCEL gained almost an additional year and half of learning (1 48), learning in two years what students in other schools learn in three and a half years The findings in the study put the learning gains in the top 1% of learning gains ever rigorously studied at scale in low and middleincome countries.