By John Ikani
The Federal Government of Nigeria says it has begun the construction of 37 “smart schools” across the country.
The move which is a part of efforts geared towards boosting Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigeria was made known by the Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission(UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to him, extensive work had been done in 20 of the 37 schools to be built, while work would begin fully on the remaining 17 soon.
He explained that the initiative became necessary to ensure that Nigeria competes favourably in the present world of technology.
The executive secretary emphasised that one of the best ways to achieve the milestone was to introduce children to e-learning from the moment they enrolled in school.
“In many parts of the world e-learning is an integral part of learning. Some private schools have been into this business for some time now.
“For public schools, we are pushing hard to ensure that we offer this opportunity to every Nigerian child regardless of whether they can afford the expenses or not,” he said.
Speaking on the uniqueness of “smart schools,” he said they would be hands-on, providing opportunities for children to use gadgets from point of enrolment.
“Each of the schools has a primary and junior secondary section. Those in the junior secondary section will be introduced to artificial intelligence.
“There is also provision for special education and this is to ensure that we do not isolate children with special needs.
“Other facilities in the schools are e-library, robotic laboratories and vocational laboratories, among others,” he said.
