The Universal Basic Education Commission in collaboration with the Joint Matriculation and Examination Board (JAMB) conducted a proficiency examination for prospective teachers for the model UBE smart schools in 29 states and the FCT. A total of 2684 teachers from different parts of the country participated in the examination in 30 CBT centres.
The exercise was a Computer Based Test (CBT) proficiency examination, embarked upon to select competent teachers to drive the process of basic education delivery to learners in the soon-to-be-launched model smart school in Nigeria.
The one-day activity comprised of biometric enrolment of candidates at JAMB accredited centers in respective states of the federation and the FCT, as well as the examination process which was held for a period of two hours. The candidates were each tested on the use of English, General Knowledge and a subject area of specialization.
The Digital Resource Center (DRC) of the Universal Basic Education Commission held a 2-Day Interactive Session with prospective principals of the Model Smart Schools on Wednesday 8th-Thursday 9th February, 2023.
The session was aimed at acquainting the prospective principals with the novel concept of smart schools, training them on blended learning techniques, digital literacy and effective school management skills, and having interactive discussions with them on the progress achieved in their various states on the smart schools programme.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, in his welcome address, read by the National Co-ordinator of the UBEC Digital Resource Center, Prof. Bashir Galadanci, urged the principals to put in their best noting that the success of the programme largely depended on their commitment and dedication in the discharge of their functions as the administrative heads of these institutions.
There are 37 Model Smart Schools (one per state and the FCT) constructed by the Federal Government. They are highly sophisticated state-of-the-art basic education institutions with massive infrastructure and a wide array of modern ICT equipment expected to commence operations in September, 2023.
A team of Korean experts from UBION Consortium, the KOICA project management consultants for the smart schools’ project in Nigeria recently paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Hamid Bobboyi. Explaining the purpose of their visit, the KOICA Country Director, Mr Son Sungil who led the delegation explained that the team had come to Nigeria, as part of the MoU signed with UBEC, to assist Nigerian teachers in the development of digital content for smart schools, especially in the areas of Mathematics and Science. In his remarks, the Executive Secretary expressed delight at the visit and reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to commencing operations in some of the newly constructed smart schools in the country by the beginning of the 2023/24 academic session. He thanked the Korean team for their commitment, efforts and hard work while wishing them success in the course of their assignment. It will be recalled that the UBE Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in October, 2021.
The MoU revolves around three key aspects which include; the supply of studio equipment to selected smart schools, content development, particularly in Mathematics and Science subjects as well as capacity development for teachers and education managers across the country in the use of new ICTs and the Blended Learning (BL) methodology.
The Executive Secretary, Dr Hamid Bobboyi, in the company of the National Coordinator, Digital Resource center, UBEC, Prof. Bashir Galadanci, led a team of officers to Lafia, Nasarawa State, for an assessment and monitoring visit to the UBEC Model Smart School of the state under construction.
The purpose of the exercise was to inspect the extent of work done and determine the state’s level of preparedness for the commencement of academic activities in the third term of the 2022/2023 academic session.
The Digital Resource Center, UBEC organized a 5-day workshop to generate guidelines for the development of Blended Learning (BL) lesson plans based on an earlier developed template. The activity is a sequel to a Start-up Workshop that was conducted for the scoping and sequencing of the Primary and JSS curriculum at Starview Palace Hotel, Abuja from 6th-10th June 2022.
The 5-day activity also aimed to train experts on the template which will guide in the development of sample Blended Learning (BL) lesson plans for all subjects from the NERDC-approved curriculum for Primary and JSS as well as formulation of guidelines for the development of the e-content for use in the Model smart schools and 109 E-learning centers in Nigeria.
The blended learning technique is a process of incorporating traditional/conventional methods with modern digital ICT skills for effective teaching/learning outcomes. The technique will be utilized in the enhanced delivery of basic education in Model smart schools which are expected to commence academic activities in January 2023.
A 2-day meeting was held between the DRC, UBEC and all SUBEB Directors in charge of Smart Schools programme in the 36 states and the FCT to discuss issues related to the Programme, on 31st October-1st November, 2023, at the conference hall of the Commission.
During the meeting, issues relating to the on-going construction work in the various states were discussed. Similarly, some observations were made on the progress of activities, noting the challenges encountered in the course of executing the individual projects. Deliberations also centered on the way forward towards ensuring the smooth commencement of academic activities once the constructions are completed and relevant infrastructures and equipment have been deployed.
Furthermore, activities that need to be done in preparation for the successful take-off of the programme were among other things discussed at the meeting.
At the end, the participants agreed on the need to hold a similar meeting with all the SUBEB Desk Officers in charge of the Smart school project who will be working under the SUBEB Directors, to discuss all issues related to the project.
South Korea is set to assist Nigeria in the development of smart schools projects and increase the capacity of teachers in the development and use of ICT content.
According to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA) and Nigeria Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the former will also help to improve the access of teachers and pupils to quality teaching and learning materials.
South Korea is generally rated as one of the countries with the best education systems in the world in terms of the use of relevant technologies in teaching and learning and how teachers are well paid compared to other professionals.
This was made known during a visit by a team of Korean experts led by Prof Dae Joon Hwang of UBION Consortium on Dr Hamid Bobboyi, the Executive Secretary of UBEC.
Speaking during the visit. Dr Bobboyi, reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to commence operations in some of the newly constructed smart schools by January 2023.
Son Sungil, the Country Director of the Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA), stated that the three-man team had been in Nigeria since July 3, 2022, as part of the implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between KOICA and UBEC in October 2021.
The Team Leader, Prof Hwang, thanked the Executive Secretary for the warm reception and collaboration they had received from the Commission during their stay, noting that the three pillars of the collaboration revolved around the supply of sophisticated recording and broadcasting studio equipment in some of the smart schools, content development with particular reference to Mathematics and Science, and capacity building for teachers and education managers across the country in the use of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the Blended Learning methodology.
Also speaking, during the occasion, the Co-ordinator of the Smart Schools Programme, Prof Bashir Galadanci, stated that, during their one-month stay, the Korean team of experts had extensive discussions with officials of UBEC, NERDC and NTI on the Smart Schools Programme.
They also visited the Smart Schools in Lafia, Nasarawa State and Tarda, Kano State and had discussions with the SUBEB chairmen and officials of Kano and Nasarawa states, respectively.
In addition, they participated in two workshops organised by UBEC; one for critiquing training course materials for teachers and principals of smart schools and another for developing blended lesson templates for use by the smart schools. He explained that UBEC had benefitted tremendously from their expertise and wealth of experience.
A 5-day critiquing workshop was conducted by the Digital Resource Center, UBEC at the Newton Park Hotel, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja. The activity brought together experts on Blended Learning from academia as well as the Korean team of experts from the UBION consortium.
The workshop aimed at critiquing the training manuals for the Blended Learning materials to be developed for use in the smart schools. They included the course titles, course contents, course materials and learning outcomes for each course. The critiquing exercise also focused on designing a template for the development of blended learning lesson plans as well as working out the modalities for developing Blended Learning digital content.
The team was also tasked with designing a work plan for content development for the smart schools.
The Digital Resource Center (DRC) organized a 3-day workshop on blended learning for the UBE Smart schools and E-learning Programmes held on 27th-29th June, 2022, at Tahir guest palace hotel, kano state.
The Blended Learning methodology, which will be utilized for teaching and learning in the Smart schools simply refers to an eclectic fusion of face-to-face teaching techniques with appropriate ICT technologies in order achieve optimal learning outcomes.
The DRC has come to the realization that this innovative methodology which will underpin teaching and learning activities in the model smart schools, is a novel concept to teachers, education managers and content developers alike. Therefore, this informed the need to familiarize the relevant stakeholders in that regard.
The recent challenges experienced in the basic education sub-sector occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic, accelerated the need for new teaching and learning models that offer both teachers and learners, flexible opportunities that seek to ensure unfettered access to quality education. Consequently, the idea of integrating e-learning into the Basic Education system was set in motion. Fortunately, even before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UBE Commission had been vigorously pursuing two important programmes; the Smart Schools and the E-learning programmes, respectively.
A 5-day start-up workshop for the development of E-contents for smart schools and E-learning programmes was held in Abuja. Participants during the activity consisted of subject experts from universities, colleges of education, language villages, schoolteachers (subject-specific and specialized) selected by SUBEBs and curriculum experts from NERDC.
The workshop was targeted towards the preparation of a conceptual framework for the development of e-content for the E-Learning and Smart Schools programmes in line with the NERDC e-curriculum and the development of sample content ready for digitization. Furthermore, the experts were tasked with developing an action plan for the design, scoping, sequencing and scripting of the e-contents as well as formulation of guidelines for the development of the e-contents.
As part of the resolutions at the end of the 5-day exercise, the team is expected to reach an agreement on the modalities for the production of the e-contents.
