Government launches e-learning portals for primary, secondary school students

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

In view of the current stay-at-home directive President Muhammadu Buhari declared on Lagos and Ogun States as well as Abuja, FCT, the Federal Government has launched free e-learning portals for all students in primary and secondary schools following the closure of schools nationwide to avert the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, Minister of State for Education, announced the arrangement in Abuja Friday, April 24 during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

Nwajiuba stated that all Nigerian students have been granted free access to the following e-learning portals: schoolgate.ng and mobileclassroom.com.ng Apps.

“These e-learning platforms have been declared subscription-free for Nigerian students in primary and secondary levels during the period of this lockdown as necessitated by COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

ConsumerConnect gathered that the Mobile Classroom is an indigenous mobile application that enables students to learn audio-visually through devices such as mobile smartphones, tablets and computers.

It was learnt that earlier, it had offered all Nigerian students free access to its online portal without subscription for the period of suspension of academic activities in schools nationwide.

The Minister of State for Education said the timetable for online classes in all the states of the federation that had been integrated into the programme, and provided on the platforms which could be accessed via the Federal Ministry of Education Web site.

For effectiveness of the initiative, he added that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Education, is collaborating with the telecom sector stakeholders and network providers to grant the students free access to the portals on their mobile phones.

The online learning is being coordinated by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in conjunction with the States Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), he stressed.

The Federal Government’s announcement to close all educational institutions as part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the country, according to the minister, has necessitated the need to explore other avenues to deliver lessons to students.

He added that Malam Adamu Adamu, Minister for Education, also disclosed that Airtel Nigeria network users already could browse the e-learning platforms for free.

Other telecom service providers such as MTN, Glo, and 9mobile are currently making technical adjustment to their systems to accommodate this free access.

“This is provision we have already made this in relation to how you can access these platforms,” Nwajiuba said.

As regards the way these classes are conducted, he explained that online classes are the same as off-line classes.

“You can download them and keep, and learn them at your pace. Online can be real time if you are on the same wave and time when it is being taught,” he disclosed.

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