Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun has ordered the Ministry of Education to bring the morribound learning tablet, Opon Imo, who was initially introduced by former Governor, Rauf Aregbesola.
The tablet became popular after it was launched with funfare in Osun and was distributed to schools for learning. It was a stand-alone tablet which enabled students to learn on their own wherever they were. The tablet also had past questions for examinations and had virtual classrooms. However, the scheme suffered lack of continuity under Aregbesola’s successor Gboyega Oyetola who was a chief of staff under the administration before he was elected as successor in 2018. Governor Adeleke had reportedly complained of poor performance among students due to their lack of familiarity with computer devices.
Over 300,000 students benefitted from this programme. Hence, increasing the pass rate of Osun senior secondary pupils by over 193%, while saving the state over N8.4b in annual textbook expenses
However, the programme was discontinued by his successor, Gboyega Oyetola as the gadget were withdrawn from the students.
Giving the order, Sen Adeleke while speaking at the presentation of instructional materials to students of secondary schools in the state said students stand for the future of the state adding that how they are treated would have impact on the society.
Adeleke said that, though such innovations had been invented in the past but according to him, it was not properly managed.
“A more trending solution is to apply technology in our schools. In the past, application of tech innovations in schools failed due to failure to abide by best practice. Administrators then abandoned expert advice, hence the failure of such innovations. Our government is ready to infuse technology to aid learning, to assist teachers and to improve the learning environment.
“Part of the reason for failure at national examinations is lack of familiarity with computer systems. Majority of our students are not able to use computers until a few days before their examinations. Unfortunately, most examinations are now computer based. Upgrading students’ computer skills is therefore one of the major goals of my administration.
“To that end, I hereby direct the Ministry of Education to clean up and re-open the nine computer centers located in selected schools across the nine Federal Constituencies. The facilities in those centers are rotten away. We must put them to good use for the betterment of our education system.
“In the same vein, I call on both the Ministry of Education and that of Science and Innovation to study the possibility of introducing tablets into the senior secondary school level. This will address the increasing cost of book purchase and also enhance Osun readiness for e-learning.
“The two ministries should look into best practices and engage TLG, a local company in which the Osun government is a shareholder, on the subject matter,” Governor Adeleke said