Stakeholders seek greater investment in early child education for quality output

Stakeholders in the education sector have advocated investment in early education for children to achieve improved quality output and create a better society for all.

This was the summary of the conversations at the monthly edition of EdTech Mondays, with the theme, “Technology for Ed: Is it ever too early?”

The monthly roundtable session, an initiative of the MasterCard Foundation, in partnership with Co-Creation Hub, which was held virtually, featured panelists including the co-founder of Onebillion, James Stuart, founder of One African Child, Victoria Ibiwoye and a researcher cum senior teacher with Oyo State Teaching Service Commission, Dr. Oluwaseun Lawal.

The session was moderated by a social engineering practitioner, Joyce Daniel. Ibiwoye explained that though education is still essentially free at the elementary level in Nigeria, there is still a massive divide in the number of out-of-school children.

Emphasising the role of technology in providing quality education at the developmental stage, Ibiwoye urged stakeholders to invest in early childhood education to have a better future.

She said: “Technology has redefined the way we live in the last two years. It is important we began to focus our attention on how well education can prepare today’s learners for an unprecedented future.”

While discussing the significance of tailor-based learning for vulnerable children, she advised stakeholders to invest in quality education responsive to their unique needs.

According to her, it is important to focus on trauma-based learning in addressing some of the internal and external conflicts that children in refugee camps have had to go through, instead of doing the usual of getting them back to school.

In his contribution, Stuart, who has been involved in education technology space in several African countries, admitted that there are a lot of gaps in early childhood education in Nigeria, which, if left unaddressed, could pose a threat to the real available opportunities.

“The gaps include lack of supervision, mother tongue materials, control and funding. Stakeholders must develop child-focused and practical education technology tools to support children’s socio-emotional needs and build their cognitive skills,” he said.

Lawal also agreed that gaps still exist in early childhood education in Nigeria, as only a few states within the federation are practising it.

She restated the need for stakeholders to invest in quality education at that level to prevent higher education from being thrown into a shambles.

She also emphasised the significance of training and policy implementation for both teachers and government, adding that investment in education technology space should be devoted more to early childhood learning for improved outcomes.