Ogun state Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun, Monday disclosed that students in the state will soon enjoin free data services to aid their learning through technology.
The Governor made this known at an event organised by the office of his Special Assistant On Students Matters to mark the year 2020 International Students’ Day, held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta.
Represented by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, the governor disclosed that the state is partnering telecommunications service providers to provide free internet service to students of public secondary and primary schools in the state to enable them have access to learning materials such as digital textbooks, audio textbooks, among others.
The state government had during the COVID-19 lockdown introduced a digital class for primary and secondary school students to aid learning during their stay at home.
He insisted that the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has made the adoption of virtual learning inevitable, adding that the deployment of smart phones and tablets for learning coupled with the provision of free data would go a long way in assisting students in their learning even when they are not in school.
This, according to him, is part of the move of providing an alternative to classroom education as one of the solutions for tackling the challenges in the sector at the post Covid-19 era.
Abiodun added that the new teaching method, aided by technology would improve the standard of education and also increase students’ enrollment in schools.
“During the lockdown when it wasn’t possible for us to come to school, we introduced the Ogun digital class. What we are doing now is to improve on that to the extent that more and more students will be able to benefit from it.
“We are working a programme through which telecoms providers will assist will assist so that students can have free data to be able to access digital materials.
“We are looking into a situation whereby students can go online to access materials and they can learn without necessarily having to bother about data”, the governor said.
Speaking on the theme of the celebration: “Harnessing The Articulacy and Vibrancy of Nigeria Student Leaders for Larger Politics”, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Students Matters, Comrade Adeyemi Azeez said this year’s celebration was to harness the potentials of the students into the larger polity.
Adeyemi noted that, the current administration led by Governor Dapo Abiodun has maintained a very good relationship with the students and recognized students as partners in progress.
He added that, the celebration was to mentor the students and prepare them for future responsibilities and improve on the good legacies laid by the forebearers.
“This gathering target to mentor our students and spur them into critical understanding of the level of preparedness they should attain to sustain and improve on the good legacies of our forebearers in the political atmosphere.
“We must tow the path and impact the larger society. This feat will be achieved by actively participating in the various sessions of these engagements to be handled by persons of notable leadership acumen like His Excellency, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, the former governor of Ogun State, among many others”.
