An education expert, Bisong Busaosawo, says the continuous use of screens for teaching has adverse effects on the sight of children between the ages of three and seven.
Busaosawo disclosed this during the launch of a Non Governmental Organisation, Learningsphere, in Enugu, Enugu State on Friday.
The Executive Director ofBusaosawo Foundation, Enugu said that while innovation and digital learning was important, they posed challenges to young people as continuous use of screens for teaching had adverse effects of shortsightedness.
The expert lauded the Enugu State Green Smart School initiative, but noted that transformative education would not succeed without addressing teachers welfare.
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He observed that teachers’ welfare in the state was a mirage in both the public and private schools, revealing that frustrated teachers would give rise to production of poor students.
He noted that teachers were not only underpaid in the country but intimidated by school owners.
The executive director advocated for continuous training of teachers in the state to boost teaching and learning.
Dr. Obiageli Nnamani of the Department of Literature and English, Enugu State University of Science and Technology added there was strong correlation between teacher quality and student achievement.
Nnamani stressed that teachers influenced students’ performances in the class.
She emphasised the need to train and retrain teachers in the state for better performance of students.
On her part, the Acting Principal, Lady Ibiam Girls’ Secondary School, Enugu, Livina Njoku, decried that most published books did not meet the required standard before being circulated in markets.
According to her, many published books contained grammatical errors and wrong spellings and yet they were sold to students.
Njoku said: “I have read books published by authors and I wonder what students will become to society after reading those books.
“In those days, we didn’t find errors in novels, but today most novels in circulation have errors and also have two people writing one of them.”
She further decried the proliferation of subjects in secondary schools, especially in Senior Secondary School 1, that offered 21 subjects that were interwoven and can be merged into one subject.
“For instance, Civic Education, Social Studies and Government are saying the same thing,” she observed.
Responding, the Permanent Board Member, Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr. Nwakaego Ajah, said the NGO’s vision was in line with what Governor Peter Mbah’s administration was doing to transform education in the state.
She said the organisation was only amplifying what the state government was doing in its Smart Green Schools project across the 260 political wards of the state.
Ajah said: “I am excited because a lot of people have keyed into what His Excellency is doing in the education sector in Enugu and the smart schools have qualified teachers.”
She explained that the use of technology and digital learning was to enhance learning and teaching, stressing that it was not only about teaching children using screens but helping them to acquire critical skills.
She added: “We are promoting a child-centred-friendly environment for learning and our smart School teachers have been on training.
“I am appealing to parents to engage their children on board and monitor their performances through social and emotional engagement with the students.
“We are engaged in formative tests where students are given assignments on every topic taught within the week to discourage exam malpractices.”
Earlier, the Executive Director, Learningsphere, Uche Gabriel, said the NGO was launched to empower teachers with communication and other essential skills that would enhance learning outcomes and create engaging dynamic classrooms where students thrived.
He said they created the organisation to bridge a gap given the decline in education and moral decadence among the students, adding that if education was not gotten right, other sectors would suffer.
Gabriel said: “We will partner with the government, schools, individuals, in the training of teachers and students to make learning easier.
“We are already training some teachers and I hope that the government will address some of the issues we are raising.”
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