By Omoruyi Patricia Osayomore
According to a famous quote by an American philosopher, Eric Hoffer, “In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future.”
The quote underscores why Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration is not relenting in the promotion of processes that will culminate in providing competitive and relevant education in Edo State.
The comprehensive digital home lessons tagged: “EdoBEST @ Home Lessons” was designed to engage pupils and students during the holidays because the desired progressive future of the State lies on their shoulders.
Although the EdoBEST at Home Lessons was initiated during the Covid-19 lock-down crises which impacted negatively on all economic and social activities, education was not spared either, especially in the developing society like Nigeria.
Consequently, the remote learning program was created to get pupils and students engaged during the lockdown, pending schools’ reopening through a well-thought out strategy and preventive measures in line with directives of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
After the covid-19 menace, the Edo State Government through the Ministry of Education resolved to sustain the learning at home program as an integral part of the EdoBEST initiatives, and not only as a short-term Covid-19 crises remediation, but for every holiday learning exercise.
So far, the EdoBEST at Home Lessons have been very beneficial to some students because they have been learning through the various SUBEB accredited channels during the holiday period with ease, and in the comfort of their respective homes using gadgets like phones, tablets and computers.
The lessons which are transmitted to learners through WhatsApp and other educational applications are dispatched accordingly with considerations to the learners’ ages and classes. Governor Godwin Obaseki has Edo learners at heart hence the sustained priority accorded the education sector.
A Junior Secondary School (class 3) student of a public secondary school in the State, Iyalekhue U. Usunobun, who is benefiting from the home-based learning exercise narrated his experiences thus: “The EdoBEST at Home Lessons which parade multiple learning channels alongside multiple hours of interactive audio lessons, mobile interactive quizzes for every age, story books that are age appropriate, virtual interactive session between teachers and students and activity packets for self-study have been so gainful and beneficial to me. Using a smartphone to access the several packages has made me acquire so much knowledge this holiday period. It has enhanced my scope of learning without stress. Home now seems to me as an extended classroom.
“Before the introduction of the exercise, my holiday’s hobbies included playing football with friends in the neighborhood. I barely stayed at home. There were times I sustained injuries from the field while playing. But currently, home-based learning has moderated my former hobbies. Now, after my daily lessons, I am still left with enough time to assist my mother with household chores and running errands for my daddy.
“The exercise has been a huge academic aid to me and my friends, and I am very certain that other subscribers are benefitting as well during the holidays. The feature which interests me the most is the involvement of Mobile Tutors to educate me at home at no cost being paid by my parents.” The student added that the EdoBEST at Home Lesson is the first free home lesson since his JSS I days.
He expressed his gratitude to the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Joan Osa-Oviawe, and the Executive Chairman of Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mrs. Salami Ozavize, for their commitment towards ensuring that the dream of Governor Obaseki is brought to fruition through the EdoBEST and the EdoBEST 2.0 initiatives.
