The Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, yesterday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, for the construction of more Smart Schools in the country.
The constructions, expected to be carried out in targeted rural communities, would see Smart Schools established in rural communities.
Smart schools are schools that incorporate the latest technologies to organize, accommodate and optimize the student learning process.
UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, signed the MoU on behalf of the Commission while the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, signed for the board, during the MoU for the implementation of the NCDMB-UBEC Smart Schools Development Initiative,NUSSDI, held in Abuja.
Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, speaking at the event, expressed optimism that the collaboration will bring significant improvements to the basic education sector.
"We are looking forward to the establishment of more smart schools. UBEC has already established about 37 smart schools in every state of the federation; seven of these are zones, some of which have started operating, while others are at advanced stages.
"It is also important that we are not just establishing traditional schools using chalkboards, but smart schools equipped with the latest technology. One of our key responsibilities here is to ensure that we can fully utilize the Digital Resource Center to train teachers,he said.
Recall that UBEC has established 37 smart schools, one in each state of the Federation, equipped with the state-of-the-art technology to provide 21st century education to children in Nigeria. About 19 of the schools have taken off while others are in advance stages of completion.
Dr Hamid Bobboyi said he was excited with the partnership, noting that while most of the Smart schools established by the Commission were located in urban centres, the MoU focused on the establishment of school rural communities.
According to him,the partnership was a valuable initiative that would help the commission provide effective models for the sector.
Also speaking at the event, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, Executive Secretary of NCDMB, commended UBEC for its commitment to basic education. He stated that the Board collaborated with the Commission to add value to the sector.
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"The content of the MOU contains our joint obligations to establish smart schools in Nigeria in areas with high rate of out-of-school children and undeserved rural communities.
"The initiative is designed to leverage our combined mandate, expertise, and resources to equip smart schools equipped with modern technologies and innovation teaching methods and teaching methods.
"We plan to establish sample smart schools in the north, south, and southeast, and we will gradually expand to all six geopolitical zones, with Lagos as a special zone due to its population.
"We are committed to capturing these areas and finding ways to improve basic education," he said.
