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Wednesday, September 09, 2020 / 10:00AM
/ By Eche Munonye for First Bank / Header Image Content: First Bank
Covid-19 brought a huge challenge to education and literacy, First Bank of Nigeria Limited responded with a Rosetta stone of innovative e-learning initiatives that have far-reaching effects
Since
1967 that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) have been celebrating International Literacy Day to promote the
importance of literacy and education, every September 8 had witnessed book
gifting, book reading and related activities are undertaken by the UN body and
its coalition of partners.
But
this year is a departure as such enshrined activities are suspended and
replaced with virtual meetings, a gesture that reflects the sign of the
precarious situation of the world is as it is grappling with the devastating
coronavirus pandemic.
Education
has been in a state of limbo since schools--primary, secondary and tertiary institutions--and research institutes
across the world were abruptly shut down as countries enforced lockdown to
contain the ravages of the novel Covid-19. The disruption, a setback for
education globally, inevitably fostered a lull in the effort to enhance
literacy. And in the meantime, the world shifted to an alternative learning
method which, by and large, is narrowed down to digital learning.
These
challenges provided the backdrop for the theme of this year's International
Literacy Day: "Literacy Teaching and Learning in the COVID-19 Crisis and
Beyond," which threw open discourse on how innovative and effective education and teaching methodologies are to be adopted
or adapted in youth and adult literacy programmes during the period of the
pandemic and beyond.
In line
with this thematic direction, countries are reviewing how they have fared in
the new normal, and evaluation of various initiatives by individuals, corporate
bodies and governments are being undertaken to ascertain how they align with
the reality and what gaps needed to be filled.
For
Nigeria, the stake is higher. Burdened with a high rate of illiteracy,
inadequate digital infrastructure and an economy in dire straits, Nigeria has
on its hand a challenging learning situation in the of the new order. The
possibility of the country being further left behind in the race to literacy
was writ large, an uncomfortable fact that raised several legitimate concerns
bordering on how to ensure that students have access to learning resources, how
they can be fully engaged to make them competitive internationally with their
peers and how such engagement can help close the gap created by the closure of
all educational institutions nationwide. While a cocktail of initiatives surfaced in the past few months to
address these concerns and challenges, there was none as suitable,
comprehensive and far-reaching as the e-learning initiatives of the First Bank
of Nigeria Limited.
The
initiative which could as well be nicknamed "Operation Moving One Million
Nigerian Students To e-Learning" is a tripartite effort between the bank, Lagos
State government and Roducate, an innovative technology firm that is providing
educational solutions that enable primary, secondary and university students to
continue to study the government-accredited curriculum of various subjects and
disciplines in the convenience of their home.
Out of
the mushroom of e-learning platforms in the aftermath of the lockdown, the
First Bank initiative came with a big difference: the Roducate e-learning
platform is available for free at www.firstbanknigeria.com/e-learning.
Secondly,
the content is boosted with value-added features such as tutorial videos,
assignments, mock exam, note-taking, podcast and online games that further
promote interactive learning and deepen digital skills of the learner.
Thirdly,
the initiative is further reinforced with the provision of free 20, 000 units
of e-learning devices for pupils, which First Bank presented to the Lagos State
government on June 11. This helped to break the barriers of data cost and
device affordability as the low-end smartphones are preloaded with offline
content for children who may not have access to devices or data. By all means,
this initiative has been an outstanding effort and a boon to digital learning
in the country.
The
inevitability of the adoption of e-learning technology goes hand-in-hand with the imperative of imparting
skills in emerging digital technologies. In this regard, First Bank went an
extra mile with the rollout of complementary initiatives that justifiably
empowered youths with the required capability.
The
Bank's partnership with IBM, for instance, brought the benefit of the global tech company's Digital-Nation Africa
programme to youths in tertiary institutions. The online youth-focused learning
programme enables innovation and skills development on emerging technologies in
key areas such as Artificial Intelligence, coding, cloud, internet of things,
blockchain, Data Science and analytics, and cybersecurity. A second partnership
with Curious Learning, a non-profit organisation renown for providing learning
apps for kids, afforded pupils in the age range of three to eight years old the
use of fun, self-guided learning apps to help them with their cognitive skills
at a fundamental level.
The
significance of the FirstBank e-learning initiatives cannot be overemphasized.
As schools are gearing up to resume soon, there are over 10,000 sign-ups on the
Roducate e-learning platform. It is expected that the students have had a grasp
of the nitty-gritty of e-learning which, going forward, is expected to be integrated
into the country's educational system.
For
First Bank, a member of UNESCO's Global Education Coalition, the initiatives
are an attestation to its longstanding tradition of supporting education in
various ways, a commitment succinctly echoed by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr
Adesola Adeduntan: "The e-learning initiative aligns with our Corporate
Responsibility and sustainability initiatives and falls under one of our key
strategic pillars, thus Education through Support to our Communities." Indeed, the bank has a portfolio of projects in support of
education, including infrastructure projects in 10 universities and three
secondary schools, support for professorial chairs in 10 universities and
teaching of financial literacy and entrepreneurial and career counselling to
over 80,000 students in over 80 secondary schools in the country via its
FutureFirst programme.
The
e-learning initiatives further reinforced FirstBank's status as an important
stakeholder, leader and innovator in the country's education space, a fact
amplified by the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who, having noted
that the "intervention by FirstBank could not have come at a better time," went
on to declared his delight that the state government "have found a real development
partner in FirstBank."
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