Kwara Teachers to Get Tablets, Smartphones as Program Begins May 16

Chairman, Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB) Prof Shehu Adaramaja has said Kwara Government will on May 16 begin its data-driven Education Transformation Project (KwaraLEARN).

Adaramaja announced this in Ilorin, the state capital, saying the programme will commence across 365 primary schools in Baruten, Offa, Ilorin East, and Ilorin West local governments.

Adaramaja noted that KwaraLEARN’s key achievements in operations and technology include the delivery of 4,329 teacher tablets and smartphones; procurement of 250 blackboards; hiring of IT operation teams, set up of teacher tablets and validation of tech applications in schools.

The KwaraLEARN intervention by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s administration is a public education transformation programme to improve teaching and learning using innovative technology, data-driven platforms, high-quality learning materials, effective training and continuous coaching and support for teachers and school administrators.

“KwaraLEARN could not have come at a better time, given the challenges education is facing in Nigeria as captured by a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report delivered during a recent programme,” he said.

“Starting with governance, the Kwara State Ministry of Education, KwaraSUBEB and our technical partner, NewGlobe, developed a project communication and coordination plan to guide the management of the programme.

“Stakeholder sensitisation campaigns have also happened in the four pilot local governments, with meetings held with traditional rulers, education trade union representatives and Education Secretaries, among others. Today, KwaraLEARN has completed academic field studies in randomly selected schools to learn about teachers’ English fluency and proficiency, pupil oral reading fluency, and foundational numeracy,” he added.

He said the decision to start the project was sequel to the critical achievements the state has earlier recorded in academics, governance, stakeholder engagements, operations, school inspection, technology, job creation, leadership and development.

On the selection of the four local governments for the pilot scheme of KwaraLEARN, Adaramaja said that the local governments were randomly picked due to population from both rural and urban centres to check the outcomes before a statewide operation.

On the first phase of induction training which took place in Queen Elizabeth school Ilorin, the Chairman disclosed that 1,813 teachers and headteachers from across 227 schools in Baruten and Ilorin West LGAs have participated, saying that the second phase will start on 5th of May, 2022, with prospective participants from Ilorin East and Offa local governments.

“The induction training, which is a pivotal element of KwaraLEARN, concludes its first wave today (April 29 2022). Since its commencement on April 19 2022 at Queen Elizabeth School, Ilorin, 1813 teachers and headteachers from across 227 schools in Baruten and Ilorin West LGAs have participated while the second wave of the induction training would commence on the 5th May, 2022 and is expected to have over 1500 participants from Offa and Ilorin East LGAs.

“Our technical partner, NewGlobe has done a tremendous job in ensuring that participants are on the right teaching trajectory by deploying experienced personnel and facilities such as teachers’ smartphones, tablets and applications for the exercise.

“It is worthy of note that the teachers have shown great enthusiasm and a keen interest in becoming a better version of themselves during the course of the training.”