COVID-19: Ondo recruits 25 teachers to provide e-learning for pupils

Opeyemi Adelere

The Government of Ondo State has recruited and trained 25 teachers for On-Air Programme to get students busy during this stay-at-home period.

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The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Femi Agagu, disclosed this in a briefing with newsmen in Akure. According to him, the programme is being carried out in collaboration with the management of the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC), Orange FM and Alalaye FM.

Agagu said that the programme targets students in terminal classes, preparing for external examinations like WASSCE, NECO and others. The programme is designed with a view to accessing past questions, computer-based test, junior and senior secondary school curricular and text books, in 10 subjects areas of arts, science and social sciences.

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He said, “We are aware of the fact that some of our students will be taking external examination and hoping that this virus will go away very soon.

“The only way to make them learn is through the television, radio and online platform. We have selected 10 core subjects and they will be running on a daily basis. We are using the very best teachers we have. There will be a system of remunerating those that are to participate in the programme.”

The Chairman of OSRC, Mr. Kunle Adebayor, described this as an intervention move of government to proffer the needed support for school children at this critical moment of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Having identified the need to engage students at such a time as this, Adebayor urged parents to support the initiative by ensuring their children or wards watch or listen to the programmes
“Since all the schools were locked, we needed to engage the children in a way they will not lose the time they were supposed to be in school. We decided to embrace broadcast of educational programme. We decided to erect special studio that will ensure continuous education.

“The difference is that there will not be any physical contact. We establish the education broadcast studio. We worked with the Ministry of Education. We put together 25 teachers of 10 different subjects that cut across the arts, sciences and social sciences.

“These are the subjects’ key to the students. We trained our teachers on how to conduct education broadcast. We want to take classrooms to the children in their homes. We are also conscious of the fact that we have children in the rural communities. We are planning to set up big screens where children in the community can gather and watch the broadcast.”