LASG UNVEILS ONLINE SCHOOL PLATFORM FOR STUDENTS

*… Says It Is the Largest Digital Classroom in Africa*

The Lagos State Government has unveiled the EkoDigitalSchool.com website, an online learning platform introduced to engage students in classroom activities.

In her address at the official launch and unveiling of the initiative at the Secretariat, Alausa, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, stated that the innovation is in line with the education cum technology agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration, adding that the ‘EkoDigitalSchool’ is an online platform established to ensure continuous learning for all children in Lagos State.

Mrs. Adefisayo emphasised that the platform would enable students, either in or out of school, to have a continuous and uninterrupted learning arrangement, stressing that the initiative is in fulfilment of Four Education Transformation focus areas, namely: Invest in Technology as a Learning Aid; Improve Overall Student Welfare and Capacity Development; Improve the Capacity and Welfare of School Personnel, and Establish and Leverage Impactful Public-Private Partnerships.

According to her, “The administration of Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, in realisation of the unexpected challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, seeks to ensure safety as well as keep the pupils and students continuously engaged via e-learning and teaching platforms”.

She added that these realities underscored the firm commitment of the government to innovatively use media technology to push the quality of education to a world-class standard while making learning accessible despite all odds.

Speaking further, Adefisayo revealed the plans of the government to provide devices for all teachers in secondary schools, the same way the administration provided over 15,000 devices for primary school teachers through the Eko-Excel programme.

The Commissioner, however, advised students to maximise the opportunity inherent in the platform to enhance their academic success as the government has invested immensely to actualise the project.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs. Abosede Adelaja, said that in meeting the 21st Century requirements, Mr. Governor had approved various programmes and initiatives in the education sector towards the academic success of the students in public schools.

In his presentation, the Co-Founder/CEO of Chronicles Software Development, Mr. Oluwakoyejo Oluwatosin, explained that the digital school is built on a cloud architecture that can accommodate over 10 million students concurrently.

“Through this platform, students can take classes online, do group projects and chat with their teachers, if they have challenges in solving tests and quizzes”, he said.

While maintaining that plans are ongoing to ensure that the learning platform is data free in order to give equal access to all students in Lagos, Oluwatosin disclosed that the initiative will no doubt enable the students to be very versatile, robust and 21st century inclined.