By Rosemary Etim Bassey
The Federal Government has introduced a virtual teaching initiative to provide pupils in underserved schools and communities with access to qualified teachers, particularly in subjects where schools lack instructors.
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The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the initiative, known as Inspire Live, would enable pupils in primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools to participate in live, interactive lessons delivered remotely by qualified teachers.
Alausa disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday night, where he outlined the government’s technology-driven efforts to address challenges in the education sector.
Using Kaura Namoda in Zamfara State as an example, the minister explained that pupils in schools without English Language teachers could join live lessons online according to a centrally prepared timetable.
He said the arrangement would enable schools to overcome shortages of teachers in particular subjects without waiting for additional personnel to be recruited or deployed.
“Any school, say you are in Kaura Namoda today and you don’t have an English teacher, you can go online and log on when that teacher will be teaching English. You can log on to it in an interactive way,” he said.
According to him, the platform covers all subjects in the national curriculum, including English Language, Mathematics, Social Studies, Civic Education, Nigerian History, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
He added that pupils could also access recorded lessons to reinforce their learning or catch up on classes they had missed.
“They will have recorded lessons. You just need to log on, and you get linked to a live teacher. You can also go and do a recorded lecture,” he said.
To address concerns about internet access, Alausa said the Federal Government had partnered with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to provide zero-rated data for students using the platform.
He explained that the arrangement would allow pupils to access lessons without incurring additional data costs, particularly those in rural and underserved communities.
The minister also disclosed that the government was strengthening teachers’ capacity through digital platforms, including Ignite, which provides educators with resources for lesson preparation, curriculum access and professional development.
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