In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, which has led to the closure of schools across the country, the Ogun State government on has launched the Ogundigiclasses.
This initiative would see the transmission of digital classes for primary and secondary school students, to compensate for the time lost due to the closure of schools.
Announcing the launch on his official Twitter handle, @dabiodunMFR, the state governor, Dr Dapo Abiodun said that it is an effort from the government to see that students do not lose valuable time while waiting out the COVID-19 outbreak in their homes.
His tweet read: “I have directed that effective from today March 24, 2020, the Ogun State Television, OGTV commence transmission of digital classes for primary and secondary school levels, to compensate for time lost due to the restriction order our Government placed on schools across the State.”
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I have directed that, effective from today March 24, 2020, the Ogun State Television, OGTV commence transmission of digital classes for primary and secondary school levels, to compensate for time lost due to the restriction order our Government placed on schools across the State pic.twitter.com/kd1PeFd4zF
— Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun, CON (@DapoAbiodunCON) March 24, 2020
He noted that the initiative tagged “Ogun DigiClass,” would be coordinated by the State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, with experienced educators handling the topics.
The classes will be streamed in sessions – 9 am – 11 am in the morning, and 1 pm-2 pm at noon.
It will also feature interactive classes to allow questions from the viewing pupils and students, and also be available online for those who miss out on the television screening or have no access to televisions.
The interactive class, which will allow for questions from viewing pupils and students, can be watched online by those who do not have access to the televised sessions via https://t.co/nfhyj5PWfy
— Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun, CON (@DapoAbiodunCON) March 24, 2020
The website https://ogundigiclass.ng was also launched on Tuesday for students who do not have access to television sets in their homes.
The governor urged parents to ensure that their children and wards benefit from the initiative, in order to secure their future.·
Parents and guardians are hereby urged to allow and enable their children and wards to benefit from this initiative. #BuildingOurFutureTogether
— Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun, CON (@DapoAbiodunCON) March 24, 2020
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What this means: The Ogundigiclass is an initiative that would benefit students around the country, as they can view the lessons from the archives on the website, irrespective of location.
The Ogun State governor would be the first in Nigeria to launch such an initiative, to provide alternatives for students and parents who have been forced to stay at home due to the lockdown.
This is a demonstration of a recent suggestion by Bill Gates to make learning available to the students at home, although the Ogundigiclass has taken the peculiarities of the Nigerian situation into consideration by ensuring that students can access the class even without sophisticated technologies.