From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has made case for improved digital literacy for lecturers in Colleges of Education (CoE) across the country, insisting that ICT has redefined education and other means of teaching and learning, hence the knowledge has become compulsory for all in order to remain relevant.
The Commission, however, announced that as part of first steps, it has commenced training of 600 lecturers selected from some CoEs on the new digital tools developed by NCCE for teaching and learning in CoEs.
Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Opiah, who launched the new digital platform in Abuja, commended NCCE for such innovation which, he said, will prepare the CoE graduates to favourably compete in local and global spaces.
He made reference to year 2020 when COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm, resulting in lockdown and closure of schools and other public places, leaving only online engagements for communities, markets, schools, Churches and other public places.
He urged the NCCE to further extend the training to lecturers in all the CoEs in Nigeria, so they can prepare themselves and their students for any eventuality as was witnessed in 2020 when COVID-19 resulted in global lockdown.
Executive Secretary of NCCE, Prof. Chijioke Okwelle, in his speech, explained that the training will be conducted in the 12 Federal Colleges of Education selected from the six geo-political zones of the country.
He said: “We all knew what happened in 2020 during the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Schools, markets, malls, churches and several public places were shut abruptly. Many tertiary institutions’, Colleges of Education inclusive, teachers and administrators were, then, lacking in basic ICT knowledge to run their institutions in terms of teaching, learning and administration.
“Consequently, many tertiary institutions started with the use of free online platforms, such as Google classrooms, zoom, free conference calls, go-to-meeting, etc which at the time of school lockdown had limited functionalities as they are free online platforms.
“Equally, many tertiary institutions struggled to figure out how to use technologies to enhance students’ learning during the pandemic. It is for these concerns that the NCCE worked with some partners to have a model e-learning Application with the functionalities of what an e-Learning platform for Colleges of Education should be.”
He explained that the first phase of the capacity building was aimed at equipping 600 teacher-trainers (lecturers) from 12 Federal Colleges of Education on the role of digital technology in online/blended teaching and learning.
“Also, it will develop their ICT skills in using the model platform created by the NCCE in conjunction with development partners to deliver training effectively to NCE students across the nation.
“Building the capacity of 600 teacher-educators (lecturers) on the use of ICT for teaching and learning (e-learning platform) will definitely encourage Colleges of Education in the country towards devising more grounds for the production of adequately prepared and formidable classroom teachers at the basic education level.”
NCCE’s Director of ICT, Pius Ekireghwo, in his remarks, explained that the journey for the development of the digital platform began in 2019 but could not be completed for some unexplained reasons.
He appreciated the support and encouragement received from the NCCE Executive Secretary and other partners which resulted in the completion and launch of the digital tool.
Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, in his remarks, reminded teachers and NCE graduates that technology has greatly redefined ways things are being done, and no body without digital skills and knowledge will be relevant and effective in today’s world.
He said: “Developed countries of the world, namely, UK, Canada and others, are beginning to show interest in our teachers in their numbers. This, unarguably, was because of the sanity that was restored in the profession following the introduction of the teachers Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) which has been effective.”