By Albert OGRAKA:
Delta state has become the first state in Nigeria to implement and deploy the digital integrated learning solution for six trades in the state owned technical colleges and vocational education centres.
The $120,000 World Bank assisted SEEFOR project with M-Tutors, according to the Delta State Coordinator of State Employment and Expenditure for Results (SEEFOR), Mr Benson Ojoko, is the first of its kind in Nigeria, intended to enhance teaching and learning by translating the curricula of six technical and vocational trades into an online and offline audio-visual digital integrated leaning system to make the students learn beyond the classroom.
While calling on public spirited individuals and corporate bodies to take cue from the efforts of the SEEFOR and World Bank in helping to improve the standard of teaching and learning in the technical and vocational institutions, he said that the present upgrading of infrastructure in the institutions was due to the high premium that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa places on entrepreneurship and skill acquisition.
The Delta State Coordinator of State Employment and Expenditure for Results (SEEFOR), Mr Benson Ojoko, said SEEFOR partnership with the state government is hinged on the state government’s partnership with the World Bank and the European Union which has yielded evident results through adequate funding and capacity building of the technical and vocational institutions.
He said that through these supports, the state government has greatly improved the learning environment by providing basic technical and vocational intsructional materials as well as training students in the institutions with relevant
skills to meet international standards to compete effectively in the global market.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Delta state Technical and Vocational Education Board, Mr. Michael Akpobire, said that Delta state has once again come to the forefront of blazing the ail in upgrading students’ performances in meeting with internationally acceptable standard of teaching and learning in Nigeria.
He disclosed that the $120,000 World Bank assisted programme has greatly defined the status of SEEFOR and Delta state government in meaningful skill engagements among the youths.
The six trades, according to Mr. Akpobire include, Welding and Fabrication, Electrical Installations, Building Technology, Automobile Technology, Mechanical/Engineering Crafts and ICT.
He further disclosed that the state government’s efforts in upgrading the institutions have yielded increased enrolement among students of the various technical and vocational institutions across the state.
Ahead of the training session, the Vice President of Mobile-Tutors Limited, India, Mr. Senthil Kumar said that M-Tutors with over 400 exparts in software development presently operates in 20 countries and offering basic software teaching and learning solutions to technical and vocational institutions to meet international standard.
He said in a bid to give the benefitting students the right exposure to handle academic challenges, M-Tutors offers audio-visual learning materials to help students comprehend what they have learnt through sustainable interest levels and simplified learning that would make them become useful to the society.
Mr. Kumar who said the goal of the M-Tutors digital integrated learning system was to impact on the behavioral change in students through capacity building noted that, “It gives confidence to the students with significant growth and interactive engagement to become useful to the society.”
