28th August 2023

The meeting was held to verify that all project sites were fully prepared for the supply and installation of studio equipment and to provide a clear and concise timetable for the upcoming smart school inspection visits by KOICA. According to the DRC, currently, only nine smart schools are ready for the commencement of the new 2023/2024 academic session. This number may be reviewed depending on the state of readiness of other schools before the year ends.

In the course of the meeting, KOICA presented some requests which were subsequently reviewed by the DRC. The requests included the need for DRC personnel to accompany them to the smart school project sites, for security arrangements to ensure their safety during inspection visits and for information to be passed on to SUBEB to prepare for logistics in the states to be visited. The DRC approved all of KOICA’s requests except for one. Instead of sending DRC staff to accompany them, the Department of Physical Planning (DPP) staff will go with them. KOICA then requested that the DPP staff to be assigned should possess knowledge of the smart school project, which the DRC will consider.

A comprehensive schedule was also presented by KOICA for the Korean team of equipment experts’ visits to the smart school project sites. The visit will commence in Nasarawa state, followed by Bauchi and Kano. A market survey will be conducted in Lagos, and then the team will proceed to Akure, Ekiti, Anambra, and finally Calabar. The final schedule is subject to flight availability during the proposed period.

Furthermore, discussions regarding the design and branding of the KOICA/UBEC logo to be displayed on the content and studio equipment of the UBE smart schools were also held. It was agreed that any project done jointly by UBEC and KOICA would feature both logos. Otherwise, only the KOICA logo should appear.

17th August 2023

A meeting was held between the DRC and Galaxy Backbone to assess the organization’s readiness to provide Internet connectivity and ensure the preparedness of its Data Server. The objectives of the meeting were to confirm that Galaxy Backbone is capable of efficiently delivering services to the DRC, smart schools, and e-learning centers. These infrastructures are essential for the successful launch of smart schools.

Galaxy Backbone’s technical representative assured the DRC that they were fully prepared to begin the project as requested by UBEC. The project was divided into five components, involving the installation of equipment in seven smart schools. Unfortunately, the Lagos, Edo, and Imo State Smart Schools are not yet ready, while Bauchi, Nasarawa, Katsina States and the FCT are ready. The installation process is expected to take roughly two weeks. Additionally, the project involves collocating/changing the server, part of which will be located at the DRC permanent site, as well as setting up internet connectivity at the DRC permanent site.

During the meeting, certain areas were identified that require urgent attention. On top of the priority list is moving the data centre to the DRC permanent site. This is crucial as it will provide service to all 37 smart schools. Furthermore, three other connectivity components needed attention. These include internet connectivity for the DRC, the 7 zonal schools (only 4 of which are currently operational), and the 17 smart schools that are ready to launch. Galaxy Backbone suggested using a Wireless Access Network (WAN) to access resources and monitoring can be done using a VPN to cover the WAN from the Digital Resource Centre.

7th August 2023

Headteachers, Heads of ECCDE, and ICT Managers play a critical role in the success of basic education, particularly in smart schools. Thus, it is imperative to have highly skilled professionals in these slot gacor hari ini positions across the 37 smart schools in Nigeria. To ensure that only the most effective candidates are selected, the DRC hosted an interactive session for prospective candidates from all 36 states and the FCT.

Each State was requested to nominate four ICT Managerial candidates, two Headteacher candidates and two Heads of ECCDE candidates for the panel to interact with and select the most qualified based on established requirements. With a total of 74 candidates from 10 States comprising, Adamawa, Bauchi, Cross River, Nasarawa, Katsina, Osun, FCT, Niger, Oyo, and Sokoto in attendance, the selection process was highly competitive.

A 10-member panel was formed and met before the start of the interview to concretize the modalities for the selection process. The team developed a checklist with scores for each of the 12 required attributes for the Administrators (Head Teachers and Heads of ECCDE) and the ICT managers. Throughout the interactive session, each panel engaged with participants from one state per hour and subsequently allocated scores. These scores were then expertly combined to derive an accurate average score for each candidate. Nonetheless, it was discovered that several candidates did not meet the necessary qualifications, such as being underage, lacking TRCN registration, or falling short of certain essential attributes.

The selection process was indeed a success. However, it was noted that a few of the potential administrators and ICT managers displayed a lack of proficiency in ICT. It may be worthwhile, therefore, to provide them with extensive training to ensure they can effectively manage the smart schools.

3rd-4th August 2023

The two-day activity was aimed at scrutinizing the outcomes of the recently concluded Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning activity to adequately prepare for the September 2023/2024 academic session. A team of experts comprising UBEC-DRC personnel and resource persons were sent to observe, inspect and monitor the activities in the pilot schools earlier in the month. The report by each State was categorized into Technical Support, Monitoring and Evaluation, Curriculum and Syllabus, Findings and Recommendations.

The findings in Kano smart school, Tarda reveal that although all teachers understand the tenets of blended learning, there were some challenges encountered during the pilot third term. These include the transition to the station rotation model was not done in an orderly manner; therefore, classroom management was affected. Timing was not properly adhered to, the role of the teacher as a facilitator in blended learning was not observed and the objective of each class was not noted by each teacher, thereby, learning achievement was not ascertained. Other challenges consist of the punctuality of teachers to the classroom, water supply issues and the problems of electricity supply to the school.

Similarly, in Kwara State Smart School, Ilorin, the teachers made use of the appropriate curriculum in preparing their topic and lesson plan while learners in the upper basic collaborated well and used the technology better than learners in the lower basic classes. The rotation from station to station was smooth with a song to signify the transition time within the allotted time frame.

Both schools were facing challenges related to their electricity supply and alternative sources of power. Additionally, at the time of the exercise, the Kwara and Kono smart schools did not have a functional water supply system.

5th-6th August 2023

The 2-day activity was organized to ascertain the availability status of scoping and sequencing in all subjects and levels as well as to develop a new syllabus from the existing curriculum and give structure to the lesson plan. The breakdown of activities to be undertaken during the exercise was outlined by providing a spreadsheet containing all the subjects offered at the basic education level. The slot gacor hari ini major highlights considered for the activity consisted of categorizing subjects offered by each class (ECCDE – JSS 3) and ascertaining whether scoping and sequencing have been done or not.

Five groups were created to study the curriculum about the instructional materials, with a quick review done by the team to verify the classes, the subjects available and those that are not. A spreadsheet was also created to indicate the progress of the scoping and sequencing exercise. After the preliminary tasks are completed, the schools will be urged to connect to the Google Drive account to facilitate the activity by arranging the lesson plans and schemes of work. The teachers will also be encouraged to create their content and not depend entirely on the Learning Management System.

Additionally, the subject experts were tasked with making a scoping and sequencing for the EECDE class and discussing with English and Mathematics subject experts about verbal aptitude and quantitative reasoning to be regarded as separate subjects.