Airtel Nigeria, telecommunications services provider has joined hands with Nokia, world’s leading phone manufacturer and Pearson Foundation to train select primary school teachers in Lagos State on the use of wireless technologies in teaching Mathematics.
The Project, named BridgeIT, is a multi-sector partnership by the three organizations, combining familiar mobile products and existing wireless technologies to deliver educational programs to teachers and students who otherwise would not have access to such vital training materials.
Under the training programme, teachers received digital educational programming – videos, pictures, text, and audio files – over mobile technology already in use in their communities, and were empowered with skills to share these materials with students in ways that will improve students’ learning.
At a graduation ceremony last week in Lagos, 200 teachers selected from 100 primary schools across Lagos State received their certificates for participating in the four-day seminar.
Speaking at the occasion, Mrs. Atinuke Adelakun, coordinator for BridgeIT Initiative in Nigeria said the focus of this year’s programme was to enable better understanding, teaching and learning of Mathematics for both teachers and pupils, respectively.
Mr. Adedotun Adebayo, nicknamed ‘French Man’ by fellow teachers, stated that Bridge IT and its new method of teaching has made Mathematics interesting, enjoyable, and more easily understandable by both the teachers and the pupils.
Emeka Oparah, Corporate Communications & CSR Director of Airtel Nigeria, who was represented by Chioma Okolie, CSR Senior Officer, expressed Airtel’s delight to be part of the partnership and assured that the company would continue to partner with the Nigerian Government in developing education at the primary level.
“At Airtel, we understand that children are the foundation, the future and we will continue to provide educational support especially for underprivileged children,” he said.
The training for the batch of 200 teachers ended last Thursday, September 20th with the participants extolling the benefits of the programme, having learnt how to select and receive digital educational programming- videos, pictures, texts and audio files over mobile phones and the ability to share these materials with students in ways to improve learning.
During the first phase of the programme, which held last year, 62 teachers from 31 schools were trained.
The programme is supported by the Lagos state government through the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). Under the programme, Airtel Nigeria provided dedicated lines and data services; Nokia West Africa supplied handsets while Pearson Foundation delivered the content.
