Why Nigeria’s Education policies must Embrace Technology

The value of information is in its capacity to birth transformation. And education has been – and still is – a means of achieving this. On its wings were born the metamorphosis of man; from Stone Age through to the Technology Age characterised by innovation and knowledge. But for the future relevance of education in the scheme of things – especially with the emergence of the Internet of Things – it must engage technology and embrace global best practices.

If the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in education – the guarantee of inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all – is to be achieved in Nigeria, our education policy must be imbued with the effective utilization of technology in the learning process; and teachers and other players in the education sector must embrace these best practices.

William B. Yatse once said, ‘education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.’

As the times are changing quickly and the world is thrusting swiftly, we need no soothsayer to tell us the future is technology, and whatever or whoever desires to live to a fulfilment of this age must embrace technology. This is the reason proactive leaders with foresight have ditched traditional education systems for a dynamic, innovative and collaborative system – blended learning – that prepares and equips the younger generation for the future.

Nigeria, a country that has over fifty percent of its population as youths must realize the future – which is here – of the nation is hundred percent the youths. Countries are already setting an example in this regard: UAE, Kuwait, and Taiwan are leading the park in the engagement of technology in the classroom. Finland has shown the world that the traditional education system is not only obsolete but also ineffective for today’s world. This has been further established by their higher ratings ahead of United States of America. In 2009 according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report, they ranked sixth in Maths, second in Science and third in Reading while U.S. students ranked 30th, 23rd and 17th, respectively, of the 65 tested countries.

And in the United Arab Emirates, for instance, there are facilities for students to sign up to specialized online class forums with video capacity, allowing them to team up on ideas and discuss self – study projects remotely. Students can also connect with tutors face-to-face at allocated times using these facilities. Thus, their students graduate as highly-skilled workers adaptable to new and evolving technologies.

For the 21st century education to be successful, we must engender what Mark Nicholas highlighted as imperatives in his book,‘Teaching for Learning’: increase the capacity of learning institutions to cater for more students cum the ability to cater for them effectively; adaptation of knowledge imparted to the realities of life; removal of hindrances in accessing knowledge, and flexible learning styles to accommodate peculiarities of the students; a competitive mindset in the education sector that creates alternative choices and more convenience for the students – students should determine what, when, where and how they learn; and finally, personal touch – interaction among the students and between individual tutor and student.

Again, it is imperative to note that care must be taken in the adaptation of these principles in Nigeria. There is often a tendency for the bastardization and crippling of policies and systems that are successful in other climes when copied and pasted without proper adaptation. A case in point is the implementation of continuous assessment in Nigerian institutions of learning. Though not a bad idea, it was soon reduced to mid semester tests, and the whole gamut of the learning process coalesced into the passing of examination rather than the acquisition of life skills and labour demanding competencies to lead a successful life in a competitive global free economy.

Nonetheless, neither the adaptation of these global best practices nor the imperatives for 21st century education is negotiable, if Nigeria desires to be relevant in the global economy by 2020 and if we are to command any respect in the fierce competitive knowledge economy, our education policy should as a matter of urgency be reviewed to incorporate this blissful marriage of education and technology.

Daniel Iyanda is a content manager at Brainstormr, an Education and Technology Company.

Originally seen on blog.brainstormr.com