By Aduragbemi Omiyale

In order to improve the reading skills of children in Oyo State, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has distributed textbooks in public schools.

The agency hopes to disburse over 10,000 textbooks to nearly 2, 450 public schools in the state.

At the ceremony held last Friday at the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (Oyo SUBEB), the USAID Northern Education Initiative Plus Chief of Party, Mr Nurudeen Lawal, handed over copies of Yoruba Early Grade Reading materials Je Ka Kawe to the Executive Chairman of Oyo SUBEB, Mr Dr. Nureni Adeniran.

The executive chairman said the Oyo State Government remains committed to investing in the future of children in public schools through education.

He thanked the United States Government for being a worthy partner in the Mr Seyi Makinde-led administration’s vision to ensure all children learn to read and write fluently, especially in their mother tongue.

“Every child deserves quality basic education and we thank The United States, who we believe is a proud partner with the Oyo State Government.

“They have invested in the future of our children who will grow to make a positive contribution in their communities,” he said.

Mr Adeniran said the Oyo State Government from inception was committed to increase budget allocations to improve basic education, adding that this has also yielded in USAID providing technical assistance and support to the State.

He promised that the state government would reach its goal of improved education for children and more effective and efficient management of the entire education system.

Speaking earlier, the leader of USAID delegation, Nurudeen Lawal said the agency was committed to ridding African nations of out-of-school-children, and to ensure they access education.

He noted that the importance of the mother-tongue cannot be over flogged, hence the mass production of Je ka kawe which he noted will boost the literacy level of children and youths.

Mr Lawal revealed that the success of Let’s Read and Mu Karanta in the Northern part of Nigeria inspired the initiative for Je ka kawe for South Western Nigeria and Ka Anyi Guo for South Eastern Nigeria.

He added that the development of Je ka kawe was premised on the language provisions in the National Policy on Education, that the mother-tongue of the immediate community should be the medium of instruction at the lower primary level of education.

The Chief of Party said the initiative seeks to reach 1.6 million children in grades P 1-3, along with more than 500,000 out-of-school-chil­dren and youth attending some community learning centres.

“The program will train and equip teachers and learning facilitators who can reach children in schools and non-formal learning centres,” he said.

The books were developed by Language Experts with the support of local professionals from the Board. It contains stories and pictures that promote positive social values, written in Yoruba language for Primary 1, 2 and 3.

The event was witnessed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Aminat Atere, Directors from the Ministry; Representatives of Nigeria Union of Teachers; Association of Primary Schools Head Teachers of Nigeria; Reading Advisors from USAID among other stakeholders.

By Dipo Olowookere

The Kwara State government has approved the use of the Hijab, a veil worn by female Muslims, in public schools in the state.

In a statement issued on Thursday by the Secretary to the Kwara State Government, Prof Mamma Sabah Jibril, it was emphasised that every Muslim schoolgirl has the right to put on the veil.

The government said it authorised the use of the Hijab in schools after consultations with the relevant stakeholders in the state, including leaders of both Muslim and Christian communities.

Recently, tensions were high over the use of the covering in some schools in the predominantly Muslim state. This led to the closure of 10 schools in the state to calm nerves.

Announcing the position of the Kwara State government on the Hijab controversy yesterday, Prof Sabah said any willing schoolgirl is permitted to wear Hijab, but emphasised that an approved type of the religious clothing would be designed and unveiled.

“The government hereby acknowledges and approves the right of the Muslim schoolgirl to wear the hijab, and directs the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development to come up with a uniform hijab for all public/ grant-aided schools, which will be the accepted mode of head covering in schools.

“Any willing schoolgirl with the approved (uniform) hijab shall have the right to wear same in public/grant-aided schools.

“Also, the government affirms the right of every child in public schools to freedom of worship,” the SSG said in the statement.

The Kwara State government, which said “there is no victor or vanquished on the Hijab question,” urged the “two faith communities, especially the leaders, opinion moulders and media personalities to act with restraint and great responsibility in their public utterances and actions, and continue to live in peace and harmony with one another.”

“The government commends all the thought and religious leaders on both sides for their forbearance, understanding and commitment to peace,” it added.

The state government, thereafter, directed that the 10 schools shut a few days ago to reopen and resume classes from Monday, March 8, 2021.

By Ahmed Rahma

The management of the Lagos State University (LASU) has declared that the ongoing process of selecting a substantive Vice-Chancellor for the institution is credible and warned against attempts by some people to discredit the process.

This  was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by the Coordinator, Centre for Information Press and Public Relations (CIPPR), Mr Ademola Adekoya.

“Our attention has been drawn to a viral video by one @Baloguneko making the rounds on the social media, where he accused the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council of the University, Prof. Adebayo Ninalowo, of attempting to manipulate the ongoing selection process of the next Vice-Chancellor of the University, purportedly to favour some candidates and shortchange others.

“Before now, we have maintained a deliberate silence on the various media reports and propaganda that have greeted the first, and the currently ongoing selection process in order to avoid joining issues with those seeking to, and by all means, rubbish the process, in order to achieve their personal gains.

“But after critically assessing the latest video, and aware of the damage the misinformation it contains could cause to the good name of the university, we are compelled to provide some clarifications,” the statement read.

It further stated that, “First, the Council Chairman, Prof. Adebayo Ninalowo, does not have any grouse with a particular candidate and regardless of his personal preferences, cannot unilaterally determine who applies for, is shortlisted for, or is eventually appointed as the next Vice-Chancellor of the University, as @Baloguneko alleged.

“For the avoidance of doubt, a committee, headed by the Chairman Council, made up of representatives of the council and the Senate of the university, is only responsible for shortlisting, screening and interviewing applicants for the position of Vice-Chancellor, in a transparent manner.

“The job of the selection committee, however, ends with recommending the names of the three best performing candidates to the Visitor (the Governor of the state) who has the prerogative to appoint *any of the three candidates recommended* to him.

“Second, the poster’s allegation that the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, attempted to foist a particular candidate on the university is untrue and very unfortunate. The poster again betrays a lack of knowledge of the process of appointment. No where in the LASU Laws is an incumbent (or former) VC empowered to decide his successor.

“Being a stickler for rule of law and due process, the immediate past VC consistently maintained his neutrality in the process of the appointment of the new Vice Chancellor. If he was not able to determine his successor while in office, one wonders how he would do that now that he is out of office.

“Finally, we must state that the process for the appointment of the 9th Substantive Vice Chancellor of the University has been very transparent and credible.

“We, therefore, urge all well-meaning stakeholders to resist any effort to undermine the ongoing selection process, but rather  continue to pray for the best candidate to emerge while supporting the University to attain her goal of becoming the best in the country.”

By Adedapo Adesanya

A Nigerian education technology startup, Gradely, has unveiled a homegrown and virtual learning management system (LMS) for schools.

The startup, which has raised $150,000 in pre-seed funding from angel investors and venture capital firms such as Ventures Platform and Microtraction, has now launched its LMS, known as Gradely For Schools.

Gradely For Schools is a teacher-led LMS, built for personalised learning, with features such as live classes to organise and hold engaging class experiences, assessment tools to set up robust and relevant assessment formats fitted with the Nigerian and British curriculum-aligned question pool, a proctored examination system to hold credible remote academic evaluations, and a suite of personalised video lessons, practice quizzes and games library known as Gradely CatchUp! to support in-class efforts with students at home.

Speaking on the system in a recent interview with a tech-based platform, Disrupt Africa, Mr Boye Oshinaga noted that, “The personalisation works by having tonnes of assessment content mapped by topic and difficulty, and following the performance on adaptive tests, students are provided recommendations daily to catch up on weak areas.

“This leads to measurable improvement in student’s performance and a learning path that is unique to each child.

“It is possible to use Gradely at home as a standalone learning supplement or in conjunction with school, so that homework and class material can be viewed directly on the app as well. In this case, where the app is school-integrated, parents see a report that is the most representative source of truth of the child’s learning progress.”

So far, Gradely has been used by over 5,000 Nigerian parents and 200 schools as part of its beta testing, and it is now planning a wider rollout.

“We saw that while African schools had begun to adopt technology, they had not figured out how to leverage it to improve learning outcomes,” said Mr Oshinaga.

“Today, 200 million African students, many in private schools as well as public schools, are in school but not learning. This is nine out of every 10 students on the continent.”

As internet penetration and device access accelerate, however, Gradely believes every school and parent in Africa will require a digital learning environment that complements classroom education and gives students a leg up in future exams. Gradely is such a solution, and charges schools an annual per-student fee for LMS access and an additional fee for content access. It also charges parents a monthly subscription for content access as well as fees per live tutor session.

“We are currently making revenues from existing users.

“We are launching first in Nigeria but plan to expand region-by-region across Africa and potentially globally as the use-cases for a content-driven personalised learning platform are very scalable,” Mr Oshinaga added.

Founded in 2019 by Boye Oshinaga, Femi Ibiwoye, Seyi Adelaju and Babatunde Caleb, Gradely uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help parents and schools intervene in real-time to plug student learning gaps.

By Adedapo Adesanya

An advocacy organisation in Nigeria, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has expressed strong concern over the allegations of corruption at the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs).

The group wants the federal government and relevant agencies to probe the alleged missing N3.84 billion documented in the 2017 annual report submitted by the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF).

It was alleged that the two agencies in the education sector in Nigeria recorded widespread and systemic corruption, misappropriation and mismanagement of funds between 2004 and 2020.

SERAP wants the government to act fast and decisively and make public the outcome of any investigation, and to prosecute suspected perpetrators if there is relevant admissible evidence, as well as fully recover any missing public funds.

SERAP stated that allegations of corruption in UBEC and SUBEBs violate the right to education of millions of Nigerian children who continue to face unsuitable learning conditions, as shown by the poor learning and boarding facilities at the Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State.

In a statement, SERAP stressed that, “We would be grateful if your government would indicate the measures being taken to address the allegations and to implement the proposed recommendations within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter If we have not heard from by then as to the steps being taken in this direction, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel his government to implement these recommendations in the public interest, & to promote transparency & accountability in UBEC and SUBEBs.

“Allegations of corruption in UBEC & SUBEBs undermine public confidence in the education sector, lead to the erosion of education quality & access, & if not urgently addressed will lead to an increase in out-of-school children, & exacerbate educational inequalities in the country.

“According to the 2017 Annual Report by the Auditor-General of the Federation, UBEC spent N7,712,000.00 to engage external solicitors between January to December 2015 without due process and the approval of the Attorney General of the Federation.

“UBEC also reportedly failed to explain the nature of the legal services rendered. The Auditor-General is concerned UBEC may have engaged ‘unqualified solicitors.

“The Plateau State Universal Basic Education Board also reportedly failed to account for N37, 200,000.00 despite repeated requests by the Auditor-General.

“The Plateau SUBEB also spent N9,709,989 without any payment vouchers. The SUBEB spent N1,607,007,353.72 Special Intervention funds by the federal government without any documents.

“The Plateau SUBEB also paid N10, 341,575.00 to various contractors without evidence of advance payment guarantee. The SUBEB paid N70,569,471.00 through cheques to a member of staff, in violation of the Federal Government e-payment policy.

“The SUBEB also failed to explain the purpose of the payment. It spent N120,948,000.00 on the professional development of teachers but failed to retire and account for the money.

“The Imo State Universal Basic Education Board reportedly spent N482,560,000.00 as mobilization fees to some contractors without due process and any advance payment guarantee. The contracts were funded from the Matching Grant Account.

“The Auditor-General stated that the contractors selected lacked ‘the financial capacity to handle the contracts.’ The SUBEB has also failed to account for N140,774,702.12 of project fund since 2015.

“The Kano State Universal Basic Education Board reportedly paid N71,263,000.15 to contractors without due process and without open competitive bidding.

“Similarly, the Ebonyi SUBEB paid N569,758,938.00 to ‘unqualified contractors and companies’ for the reconstruction and renovation of classrooms. The Ebonyi SUBEB also spent N10,123,892.46 to buy store items but without any documents.

“The Gombe SUBEB paid N31,822,600.00 to a staff from its teachers’ professional development funds but failed to account for the money. The Auditor-General is concerned that ‘the payment is fictitious’, and that ‘the funds did not benefit the intended beneficiaries.’

“The SUBEB also reportedly paid N41,277,983.00 as cash advance to staff to ‘buy some materials and for press coverage but failed to account for the money.

“SERAP is concerned about allegations of widespread and systemic corruption, misappropriation and mismanagement within UBEC and several SUBEBs, the failure to investigate these allegations, and to recover any missing public funds.

“The federal government bears responsibility for ensuring that every Nigerian child has access to quality education in a conducive learning environment, and to safeguard education as a public good, govt’s responsibility to guarantee & ensure the right to quality education for every Nigerian child is interlinked with the responsibility under Section 15(5) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 [as amended] to ‘abolish all corrupt practices & abuse of office.’

“This imposes a fundamental obligation to investigate the missing public funds from UBEC and SUBEBs, to prosecute suspected perpetrators, recover the money, and to remove opportunities for corruption in these institutions.

“Access to quality education would empower children to be full and active participants in society, able to exercise their rights and engage in civil and political life.”