The tension and mayhem caused by the hoodlums hiding under the #EndSARS protests prompted the Lagos State Government to order the closure of all public and private schools in the state.

The directive was issued by the Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, on behalf of the government, as part of the measures aimed at ensuring the safety of the pupils/students, parents, and all staff working in schools at this critical period.

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Understood as necessary, the development leaves a sour taste in the mouth of many pupils, students, teachers and parents who were happy just a few weeks ago that learning and academic activities were gradually returning in the schools after the COVID-19 closures.

Over the past months, the unprecedented disruption to children’s education and challenges faced during the closure of schools in response to the pandemic has shown that relying only on traditional methods of teaching and learning could constitute a setback to equitable education for all. However, pending when a new date of resumption would be announced by the government, Mrs Adefisayo enjoined schools and parents to utilize other means of distance teaching and learning such as: radio, television and online media as they have been doing during and post the recent COVID-19 lockdown.

For instance, many state governments and private sectors operators are providing education through a range of channels including online, on television, on the radio and via mobile phone. In addition, offline recorded lessons are being uploaded onto radios and MP3 players and made available to children.

It’s important to use a variety of channels that are accessible and affordable to communities; understanding that one size does not fit all. There are Bridge International Academies’ mobile-friendly interactive quizzes available on WhatsApp – or via SMS – that help children practice what they have been learning in various subjects and helps parents assess what their children have been learning.

The Lagos State government introduced the EkoEXCEL@Home as an immediate educational support initiative to further facilitate continuous learning and increased engagement for pupils as well as the Classroom in Your Home TV program on (LTV) and the Interactive Radio Instruction (on Radio Lagos 107.5FM and Eko FM 89.7) programmes to ensure school children of all grade levels are learning while at home.

Parents and guardians are encouraged to continue to utilise these remote learning programmes to keep their children productively engaged as well as keep them home and safe while schools remain closed again. The longer children stay out of school, the less likely they are to return. When children do not go to school, some are at increased risk of violence, abuse, early marriage and pregnancy.

Children need to remain within the education system, even without a physical classroom and the current little setback of school closures shouldn’t deter parents from encouraging their children to continue to learn at home.

Education delivery should not only be comprehensive and sustainable, but able to continuously evolve and meet the challenges of the fast-changing and unpredictable as has been seen with closures as a result of the protests.

After COVID, we are re-imaging education systems, and we must re-imagine them so as they work whatever the challenges that face us; we must design programs that give all children the same access to modern education systems whether they are at home or not.

Written by Femi Awopetu

Vanguard News