The Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, through the Digital Resource Centre, DRC, has established fully digitised smart schools across 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
The national coordinator of the centre, Bashir Galadanchi, disclosed this during a parley with journalists at the newly established digital resource centre in Kado, Abuja, on Thursday.
Mr Galadanchi said the schools have commenced full operations in 13 states while the remaining 24 will commence operations in September.
He said the schools are fully equipped with world-class digital learning, training, and administration tools, including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and robotics kits.
He said, “UBEC is transforming the education system so that we can compete with other countries.
“We need our children to have the skills and digital knowledge to enhance themselves. That is why the DRC is all about transformation.
“We have 37 smart schools nationwide, that is one per state. Our hope is that we can have a smart school in each local government area of Nigeria.
“Our schools need to be smart. Our children deserve more than they are getting now; they should go to smart schools. Our present schools are deteriorating. If you go back to where you studied, you will see that it is deteriorating. That is why we hope that all our schools will be smart. It may take a long time because they are costly to build. However, like I said, our children deserve the best.”
Mr Galadanchi noted that ICT has become a critical component of the education sector, hence the resolution of the UBEC to adopt a small school system.
“The most important thing is that ICT are critically important to our lives today, particularly in the education sector, because it affects all aspects of education. It’s consists of the teaching, the assignment, the assessment, admission, administration, and so on.
“And it is because of this that UBEC, has decided to introduce several digital programmes. One of these programmes is the establishment of this centre.
“The ICT can do education, enhance methods of assessment, evaluation of learners, and widen access to education anywhere, at any time.
“Promote self-based learning, provide better ways of developing, distributing, and updating educational materials.
Mr Galadanchi revealed that the schools are entirely free with a competitive admission process.
Speaking earlier, the head of Capacity Development, DRC, Hafsat Kontagora, said the resource centre has been at the “forefront of empowering school administrators, teachers, and learners through ICT trainings, digital literacy, enhanced teaching and learning pedagogies, access to information, and innovative solutions.
According to her, “Our mission is to bridge the digital divide, create a more inclusive society, and transform education to meet global best practices.
“We believe that knowledge is power, and in today’s interconnected world, digital literacy is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity, especially in teaching and learning.”
Mrs Kontagora noted that the centre has achieved a lot in the areas of digital literacy programmes, community outreach, and partnerships.