Who else missed school?
What is schooling without a campus?
What is schooling without physical interactions?
The conventional schooling system which is 75-100% physical is in danger. Infact, some schools have already gone virtual and most organization that offer student Industrial training and internships have also gone virtual. In other words, virtual learning and internship is the in thing. Imagine if education around the world becomes entirely virtual? There will be a big problem. This is because it has an overwhelming ability to quash the "Education for All" campaign by UNICEF. The conventional physical schooling system is yet to ensure that every child in the world has access to education despite governmental, NGO's and some international institutions policies and efforts. Thus, it would seem like the virtual education system is for the 'Haves' in the society.
Schooling isn't simply about reading and writing. There is a famous saying that "when you enroll into a school; make sure that the school passes through you and vice versa".
The Virtual schooling system has a very low impact rate because of the following reasons:
a. Learning Abilities
Different children have different learning abilities. For most kids in basic and secondary schools, their attention level is still developing and so they would require constant monitoring and guidance to perform well in school. The virtual schooling process makes it difficult to monitor and guide the children.
b. Network Issues
Most areas in remote parts of the word are yet to come to the realization that the virtual world is in existence. There is no network infrastructures whatsover in place for them. In the urban towns and cities, network providers are sometimes unstable with their services. Furthermore, it is expensive to fund virtual schooling especially for parents who are still struggling to feed their children three-square meals daily.
c. Social Interaction is limited
Man by nature is a social animal and we learn a lot when we interact with others. Children enjoy meeting and playing with their fellow kids. From there, they learn social ettiquettes, moral ethics, how to interact with people as well as public speaking.
d. It is not suitable for science-inclined subjects
No it isn't. Subjects like Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Food and Nutrition, Electrical/Electronics, Technical drawing etc. are better understood and learnt in the four walls of the class-room.
e. It is difficult to measure feedback
The only evidence to show that you have actually taught is when the student can teach what he or she has learnt. The virtual platform gives room for a fake positive feedback or no feedback at all.
f. Poverty
Most Nigerians do not have access to smart phones and laptops. In the same vein, the information technology literacy level in Nigeria is very low. Furthermore, most cannot afford data bills especially during this period of pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the education of all children around the world in no small measure. In a bid to cope with the current situation, schools, government and organisations have launched audio lessons, radio lessons, tele-lessons, e-learning platforms to keep our children busy. However, there is limited access to learning on these platforms as a result of in adequate power supply and poverty. The foregoing is prevalent in Nigeria. Hence, we need to put infrastructures in place, train adhoc and permanent school teachers on ensuring purposeful and impactful teaching. Policies aimed at reforming the school curriculum to cover contemporary issues like public health and hygiene, artificial intelligence etc should be made. Government should also create an enabling environment for balanced schooling i.e both physical and virtual schooling should be incorporated. Furthermore, we need to be more intentional in ensuring that goal no. 4 of the United Nations sustainable development goals is achieved particularly with reference to access to education.
You can also read: ACCESS TO EDUCATION IN AFRICA: REASONS TO INVEST IN EDUCATION
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