Education

Education Will Not Remain The Same-Mrs Dr Olonisakin

Published

5 years ago

October 15, 2020

Joel Ajayi

The President Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association (DEPOWA), Dr (Mrs) Omobolanle Olonisakin has averred that the educational system will not remain the same until the cure for COVID:19 pandemic is discovered. The DEPOWA President made the disclosure at a three-day capacity building workshop organized for teachers and instructors of the DEPOWA Schools and Skills Acquisition centre, in Abuja.

According to Dr Olonisakin, “we are all aware education cannot remain the same until a cure for coronavirus is available. So with this workshop on Post COVID-19 blended teaching techniques, our teachers have been updated on how to complement face to face learning with online learning option.”

Mrs Olonisakin said the training and retraining of teachers is a panacea in the teaching profession towards optimizing the academic performance of students in external and internal examinations, as well as meeting the dynamics of the ever-changing world.

On the theme of the workshop, which was “Post COVID-19: Customized Blended Teaching Techniques,” the wife of the Defence Chief explained that due to the pandemic, schools around the world are adopting blended learning as a new normal which is part of curriculum restructuring and redesigning efforts.

She explained that blended learning strives to provide students face to face and online experiences, describing blended classroom structures as instructive techniques which include: direct instruction, lecture group discussions and small group work, as well as the application of technology to aid in-class online learning to enable students to study while at home.

Dr Olonisakin appreciated the IB8 Ventures resource persons for updating DEPOWA teachers with the requisite skills on how to complement physical and online learning while urging the teachers to inculcate the knowledge gained on their students to enable them be creative and innovative in solving issues. She commended the teachers’ resilience in imparting knowledge to the students as reflected in their performance in previous common entrance examinations.

In his remarks, the Lead Consultant of IB8 Ventures, Mr Kunle Olatunji, COVID-19 pandemic has enforced individuals and organizations in adapting to the global change, adding that is the reason IB8 ventures is working closely with DEPOWA in order to ensure its teachers are well trained with this new reality.

Mr Olatunji who commended the DEPOWA leadership for the partnership pointed out that DEPOWA school teachers were now better informed and equipped on the implication of blended teaching technique.

The Commandant of DEPOWA Schools, Lieutenant Commander Caroline Njoku, expressed her appreciation to the DEPOWA President for her commitment and support towards ensuring that the school retained its feats as a centre for academic excellence.

The Commandant expressed optimism that the DEPOWA schools were keying into the post-COVID-19 dispensation learning process, noting that the knowledge acquired by the participants during the workshop would further enhance their technological skill.

Lectures delivered during the workshop include An overview of blended teaching techniques and the new normal, blended learning strategies, transitioning to blended learning – the duties and roles of the creative teachers, the teacher and blended teaching/learning techniques-teachers roles and duties, among others.

It would be recalled that DEPOWA in 2019 held a three-day teachers’ workshop with the theme, “Higher Orders Thinking and Teaching Skills – A Recipe for National Development.”

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Education

Athena Centre Appointed to NGREN Board as Federal Government Deepens Data-Driven Governance

Published

1 day ago

November 29, 2025

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership has been appointed to the Governing Board of the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN)/Tertiary Education Research Applications and Services (TERAS). NgREN -Nigeria’s national research and education backbone – provides high-speed connectivity, shared digital services, and collaboration infrastructure for universities and research institutions, while TERAS powers the digital applications that support research, data exchange, and digital learning across the tertiary system.

In a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by the center’s Media and Communications Officer Paul Liam.

The new NgREN/TERAS Board was inaugurated by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, at the Nigeria National EdTech Strategy Mid-Term Co-Creation Workshop, hosted with support from Mastercard Foundation and the World Bank Group.

The Board includes the Executive Secretaries of NUC, NBTE, NCCE, and TETFund; representatives of vice chancellors, rectors, and provosts; and major digital infrastructure stakeholders such as NCC, Galaxy Backbone, and USPF. The Athena Centre joins the Board as the civil society voice.

In his remarks, Dr. Alausa acknowledged the Centre’s role in shaping national transparency reforms, noting that the Ministry’s Federal Tertiary Institutions Governance Transparency Portal (FTIGTP) drew inspiration from Athena’s research and advocacy.

He expressed confidence that the reconstituted Board will deliver measurable improvements within two years to strengthen Nigeria’s research ecosystem and digital readiness.

Representing the Centre on the Board, its Chancellor, Chief Osita Chidoka, OFR, commended the Ministry’s commitment to transparency and evidence-based reform.Reaffirming the Ministry’s digital direction, Dr. Alausa stated: “For the first time, Nigeria is building a unified data architecture for basic, secondary, and tertiary institutions. You cannot reform what you cannot measure, and we are determined to measure what matters.”

Echoing the need for interoperability, Dr. Tijani emphasised the importance of shared digital infrastructure, noting:“Digital transformation fails when systems operate in silos. Our priority is a national architecture where platforms talk to each other and every school is connected.”

Chidoka welcomed the digital innovation underway but stressed the importance of deeper inclusion of state governments, who own and manage most Nigerian schools, in planning, implementation, and financing.

According to him:“For education to succeed, states must invest, lead, and commit. The Federal Government must coordinate and support, but it cannot carry the burden of school management alone.”

The Athena Centre reaffirmed its commitment to supporting federal and state governments in strengthening education data systems, digital governance, and transparent accountability.Media Contact:

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