Education experts have opined that education is going through series of crisis that is from the learning crisis learners are facing. The learning crisis simply put is a state where pupils are having difficulty in learning. It is also described as a waste of talent and human potential. It is a global pandemic that affects children and adolescents the more. It can be rightly said that the learning crisis in Nigeria is a value chain. That is to say that one problem leads to another.
According to a UNESCO report of 2018, it is estimated that about 617 million children and adolescents globally are not proficient in either reading or mathematics. This data shows that two-third of children are not learning, are actually in school, or were not in school, but dropped out.
Students with learning difficulties may have problems with reading, writing, math, paying attention in class. They may also be disengaged or show signs of poor social-emotional health.
The view of Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, the Honorable Commissioner for Education in Lagos state wasn’t different as she said this during a presentation to the body of researchers in Lagos.
Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo is an experienced educationist spanning over forty years, having been in administrative capacities in top schools like the Corona Trust Schools, Osogbo Government High School, Federal Government College, Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind and also volunteered with the Junior Achievement, Fate Foundation, Yedi, Teach for Nigeria, Oando, SWORTIE Talks among others.
With her exuding profile and pedigree, there is no better person to talk about this subject than the Honourable Commissioner for Education in Lagos State in the person of Mrs, Folashade Adefisayo
In this very brief follow-up interview with Olugbenga Adebiyi, Editor, School Connect Magazine, Mrs. Adefisayo talked about the reason for the learning crisis and how education has transformed in the state. Below are excerpts.
You assumed office at the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic when the education sector was caught napping. How were you able to stem the tide, manage this novel challenge and still ensure that learning still goes on uninterrupted?
No. I did not assume office at the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 was already on at that time I assumed office. In response to the question on how we were able to manage the crisis during the COVID pandemic, when I came in as Commissioner for Education, we had a lot to grapple with at that time because we had to address the issue at hand at time which was the pandemic. So, we started looking for a bail-out from some organizations and fortunately, MTN came to our aid and supported us with data for about three years. Although, it wasn’t sustainable enough, but we were able to achieve something with that.
Despite the pandemic, we were able to get devices for students; the data support we got was used to. The learning crisis was done to the population of learners to support students in learning.
During a presentation to researches and scholars about three weeks ago at LCCI Alausa, you made mention that there was learning in the education sector. Could you expatiate on this?
When we talk about the learning crisis, we are trying to say that students are not learning and the facts are that students are not really learning at all. It is what we can see.
You also said you came across a student in SS3 who could not read and write. This was when you were administering a school in the state of Osun.
Yes, the problem or the learning crisis is the same everywhere whether in Lagos or Osun. I wasn’t a commissioner in Osun; I was just leading a school then.
The Eko Excel initiated by our amiable governor, His Excellency, Babajide Sanwo-Olu is aimed at developing highly-skilled teaching workforce, supporting and motivating Lagos state teachers and to succeed in the classroom of tomorrow and enhance the state Basic Education curriculum thereby empowering children effectively in the world of work. How has this initiative fared as we haven’t seen much impact on the pages of the newspaper?
We just had a recent publicity and articles on the pages on the newspaper and it is everywhere. We can’t run the curriculum on the pages of the newspaper. It is not possible.
The achievements can only be seen in the classroom not on the pages of the newspaper. We can’t highlight all the achievements of Eko Excel on the pages of the newspaper since the programme is meant to be runned in the classroom.
Cuts in…. if we go to the website of Lagos state, we would see all that the state is doing as far as education is concerned. But it seems we have not been hearing much since Eko excel was launched although it was a land able programme.
That is what I am saying. The programme is meant to be runned in the school and not on the pages of the pages of the newspaper.
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