Major tertiary education students’ unions in Nigeria have called on the Federal Government to extend the Electronic Education Initiative, E-DON, to universities and polytechnics across the country.
The students described the initiative as a timely intervention capable of transforming teaching and learning through the use of digital technology.
The demand was made during a joint courtesy visit to the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, in Abuja by representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Colleges of Education Students (NANCES), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) and National Association of University Students (NAUS).
E-DON is currently being deployed in Colleges of Education, where students said they had witnessed the use of interactive digital boards and other technologies to make classroom teaching more engaging and accessible.
Speaking during the visit, NANCES National President, Comrade Kur Isaac Ushenba, commended the Federal Government for promoting digital transformation in the education sector.
Ushenba said the initiative was helping to reduce reliance on traditional classroom methods, with lessons prepared and displayed through interactive boards.
He also noted that students could scan QR codes displayed during lessons to access handouts, course materials and other learning resources using their phones, tablets and other multimedia devices.
According to him, the approach has helped reduce paper waste while increasing the use of technology in Colleges of Education.
“We, as students in the Colleges of Education, are already experiencing and benefiting from this innovation. It is making teaching more engaging, practical and technology-driven,” Ushenba said.
He further urged the Minister to sustain and strengthen the initiative, particularly following the approval of the dual mandate programme for Colleges of Education.
Under the dual mandate arrangement, Colleges of Education will be able to produce degree holders, making access to modern facilities and technology increasingly important, he said.
Ushenba therefore appealed to the Federal Government to extend E-DON to universities and polytechnics so that students in those institutions could also benefit from digital learning.
“E-DON has demonstrated that technology can significantly improve the teaching and learning experience. We therefore appeal to the Honourable Minister to consider expanding this initiative to polytechnics and universities so that more Nigerian students can benefit from modern digital learning,” he said.
The National President of NAPS, Comrade Eshiofune Paul Oghayan, also supported the call, saying many polytechnics were still dependent on conventional teaching methods despite the practical and technology-focused nature of their programmes.
Oghayan said NAPS had observed the deployment of E-DON in Colleges of Education and was impressed by its potential to improve teaching and learning.
He argued that polytechnic students should also have access to modern educational technologies that reflect the demands of the contemporary workplace.
The students’ unions said expanding E-DON would provide more learners with access to interactive digital classrooms, reduce dependence on paper-based learning and strengthen the Federal Government’s digital education agenda.
They also urged the government to sustain investment in educational technology, arguing that modern learning infrastructure would benefit students, lecturers and Nigeria’s future workforce.
The Electronic Education Initiative describes itself as a technology-driven programme that uses multimedia and live video conferencing to link institutions of higher learning with institutions and partners across different countries. Its platform says it supports live interactive lectures, seminars and training programmes.
The students’ demand now puts further pressure on the Federal Ministry of Education to consider whether the digital classroom model currently being deployed in Colleges of Education can be scaled across Nigeria’s wider tertiary education system.
EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.