Education has become inexpensive, surprising effects on African students‘ educational opportunities due to the pandemic, by Kingsley Ekwueme, Manager of GrowExpress Ltd, Ibadan in Nigeria.
The rapid shift to online teaching and learning during the COVID pandemic in recent years has upended the worldview. The opportunities presented by this digital learning experience are especially beneficial to those whose financial or logistical resources were insufficient to design a global learning experience. This is true for large segments of Africa’s regionally dispersed population, at least outside of urban centers. Digital learning, given the near-zero cost of education that happens online, opens up incredible opportunities to develop the human capital of African countries. Anyone who knows that Nigeria, for example, is made up of a population that is close to 200 million people and is in an age structure where the average is 20 years old can see the opportunities this presents. The possibilities for teaching and learning are now only dependent on functioning electricity and Internet access and are in line with local technology. What seems like a limitation to a billion previous students in the conservative school system centered on rooms and meetings on site can also be seen as a global opportunity. The pandemic created the need for governments, non-governmental organizations, and commercial enterprises to make a concerted effort to advance online communications. The educational technology industry exploded in offerings and experimentation. Separated from physical classrooms and university venues, students can now experience education online. This transcends nations, language, and age boundaries.
Nigeria’s experience with education since 2020
The seven biggest problems facing the African country of Nigeria include poverty, crime, terror and, in fourth place, the education emergency, followed by corruption, environmental destruction and the violation of human rights. It is unimaginable for us in Europe that up to 40 percent of the population in Nigeria is illiterate. Access to education is particularly difficult for girls and women, and 13.5 million children do not attend school. In the school system in Nigeria, school attendance is compulsory until the age of 15, but despite this, only 66 out of 100 children attend school. One of the major problems is in rural areas, where there is often no school. Nigeria does not charge school fees, but children must wear a school uniform and this, as well as transportation and lunch, are associated with costs that parents often cannot afford. Further action is definitely needed here.
Vocational training in Nigeria
Vocational education from primary level onwards is anchored in the Nigerian education system. This is a step in the right direction, even if there are still numerous challenges in the areas of equipment, quality and demand. Nigeria has 171 Technical Colleges, 123 Polytechnics and 99 Montechnichs, as well as 235 Vocational Enterprise Institutions and Innovation Enterprise Institutions, and 43 public and seven private Colleges of Health Science and Technology. Nigeria also has 33 Colleges of Agriculture nationwide in the area of agricultural education. Under the leadership of Thomas Wegener as a long-time international manager, the Chinese company inView as well as German and American investors invested in Nigeria as a future location. But the key lies in education.
Why invest in the middle of an undeveloped area? This question is always up for discussion. I have been traveling professionally on the African continent for over twenty years. In Nigeria, the great country in West Africa, in the city of Lagos, which stretches from the Gulf of Guinea across the Lagos Lagoon, I was regularly on site before Corona. The piece of land for the GrowExpress Ltd. project is located 200 km inland from the megacity of Lagos. The port city of Lagos is located directly on the Atlantic coast, is the largest city in Africa, with over 11 million people and the average age in Nigeria is estimated at 18.1 years. Poverty and wealth are so close together, a city of extremes, which at the same time radiates hope for a better future and we would like to support this actively and sustainably with GrowExpress Ltd..
Responsible in the sense of the press law:
Kingsley Ekwueme
Managing Director – GrowExpress Ltd.
Contact:
GrowExpress Limited
Kingsley Ekwueme
Managing Director – GrowExpress Ltd.
Cocoa House, Dugbe
200263 Ibadan
Nigeria
Tel:+234 7031135981
Mail: AtYourService@growexpress.biz
Web: https://growexpress.org
Company Description:
GrowExpress Ltd office is located in Nigeria, Cocoa House, Dugbe, 200263 Ibadan. Completed in 1965 at a height of 105 meters, Cocoa House was once the tallest building in Nigeria and the first skyscraper in West Africa. It is located in Dugbe, one of the main commercial areas in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Grow Express Ltd. manages an estate of 800 hectares about 200 kilometers north of the megacity of Lagos, Nigeria. For more information, visit: https://growexpress.org
PRESSEKONTAKT
GrowExpress Limited
Kingsley Ekwueme – Managing Director
Cocoa House, Dugbe
200263 Ibadan, Nigeria
Website: https://growexpress.org
E-Mail : AtYourService@growexpress.biz
Telefon: +234 7031135981