Lagos — The Interactive Learning Network (ILN) has all it takes to address emerging issues in effective and qualitative education delivery in the country, a stakeholdersí meeting has found.

The ILN project was introduced into the country by MediaAct - Schoolnet, in collaboration with the Education Trust Fund (ETF) and NEPAD Nigeria.

Addressing a meeting held in Lagos, Chairman of the ETF, Mrs. Toyin Olakunrin said the project evolved out of an identified need for a

national educational multi-media infrastructure, which would lay the foundation for effective use of ICT in education delivery.

The ILN project, she said, has been designed in such a way that it would work with all agencies involved in education, to support their teaching, learning and management activities of primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.

"Through this ILN platform, students would be able to access information from electronic libraries worldwide and it would also enable the federal and states ministries of education to pick up data from any school of interest. The project will also facilitate lectures from institutions to students anywhere in the country while improving the quality of lecturers /teachers through continuous training."

While noting that the pilot phase of the project is being implemented in five states of the federation (Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos and Oyo) including the FCT, Olakunri said the deliverables will include provision of content and programmes distributed via network, modeling effective use of the digital content in identified educational institutions, among others.Country Manager Mediact Interactive Technologies, Mr. Sylvester Uzoama disclosed that ETF has invested the sum of N3.5 billion into the project and this is spread across the six geo-political zones.

Mr. Mukom Tamon of the Kaduna Business School said if the project is properly implemented, it will benefit all parties involved. "Students as the primary beneficiaries are expected to actively contribute to the course rooms which they can personalise by creating a personal file space for storing their personal folders for uploading to the group file space or for assignment submission when these are completed.

"For teachers, the ILN focus is neither on multimedia/resources delivery nor tutorial and assessment control, but on supporting modes of learning that emphasise group collaboration. They will not only create folders to store course materials for students to access, but also create group folders and decide when to release access to assignment submission folders, grading or allowing students their commentsî, Tamon said.