The proprietor of Dell International School in Asaba, Delta state, Dr. Glory Ogugua, has said that the coronavirus pandemic which has led to lockdown of schools in Nigeria has disrupted learning and made students to lose focus in their academic works.
Dr. Ogugua, who spoke with Emerald News in her school premises, said following the disruption of the education system in the nation it will take a period of time to resurrect the system and gain lost grounds.
For the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) which was initially fixed to begin from April 6, 2020, she said whenever the school eventually resumes, there should be no rush to write the examinations, noting that the students should be given enough time to prepare for the regional examination.
She said that the future of the children is of paramount importance, hence the examination body should not be in haste to conduct examinations, rather the students should be allowed to gather some knowledge before the examination is written.
According to her: “The system has been disrupted because of the coronavirus pandemic. A lot of things have gone wrong. All hands must therefore be on deck to properly brush up the children before the examination. When there is a break in academics, such break affects the adolescence. This is because our Intelligence Quotient level varies.”
Dr. Ogugua, who runs one of the largest schools in Asaba, argued that the examination body has rules and the students must not cheat during the examinations. Hence, she said: “If these WAEC rules must be upheld and the students are not going to cheat the examinations, then we have to plan a system that will suit them so that they will excel in the examination.”
On the e-learning system, Dr. Ogugua said the Nigerian system with its poor level of technology does not favour e-learning because it has so much flaws, stressing that the facilities for e-learning are not available in Nigeria.
Ogugua told Emerald News that she has called a lot of parents who gave her different reasons why they cannot cope with the e-learning. The poor power supply, the poverty in the country, the faulty facilities are great inhibitions to e-learning in Nigeria.
“Many parents do not have light to charge their phones. They don’t even have the money to buy data. Right now, everybody is keeping money to feed. The children do not even have enough knowledge. What are you going to teach a nursery school child online in Nigeria? It could be abroad, fine but not in Nigeria,” Dr. Ogugua said.
