Edo SUBEB engages learners with mobile interactive quiz

To mitigate the impact of school closure on learners and ensure that children continue learning from home, Edo State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) has launched EdoBest@Home programme.

The remote learning programme includes self-study activity packs, virtual classroom experiences, learning guides, audio lessons, digital storybooks and mobile-friendly quizzes that help parents and guardians test what their children are learning.

Chairman Edo SUBEB, Dr. Joan Osa Oviawe said the government has concluded plans to retain the EdoBEST@Home initiative post lockdown, and not just see it as a short-term response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oviawe said the initiative would allow the state government to prevents learning gaps that the interruption of education can cause and increase its resilience to future shocks. She identified the mobile-friendly interactive quizzes as one of the programmes widely embraced by parents.

The interactive tool helps children practice what they have been learning in various subjects and helps parents assess what their children have been learning.

She said,” When the Federal Government announced the decision to shut down schools as part of measures to protect learners and flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people worried about how education institutions would adapt to the new normal. The closure led to significant disruption in the educational system, including learning modes, access to school-related services, and crisis management capacities of the federal and state ministries of education.

“For educators, their immediate responsibility was to find innovative solutions to ensure students do not lose learning time while schools are closed,” she added.

Oviawe explained that the best@Home initiative was to ensure that children have access to academic contents and are actually learning while at home.

The SUBEB boss lamented that the pandemic has further widened the learning gap for underprivileged learners who tend to have fewer educational opportunities outside school.

She said with the remote learning programmes, children irrespective of their background could access learning resources at no cost. Oviawe stressed the need for educators from public and private sectors to explore ways of ensuring effective learning, teacher support and broader access to quality education even after the pandemic is over,

By following a prompt, he said parents could access different quizzes on various subjects from primary one to Junior Secondary School three. A parent from Esan North East, Mr Okpebholo said the questions were well prepared in accordance with the lessons taught in the EdoBEST@Home programme. Okpebholo said the initiative has been keeping his daughter who is preparing for the national common entrance exams engaged.

“I took the quizzes myself before giving them to my child. I am truly happy with the programme,” Okpebholo stated. Another parent, Mrs Glory Ayemoba from Etsako East said: “With schools closed, I didn’t have a way to know if my children in Primary six were learning. But with the mobile quizzes, I can test them. For each question taken, the quiz provides a response indicating whether the answer provided is right or wrong. We get immediate feedback. Now, I can test my children’s performance at home.”