By Bukola Hameed
An educationist, Mr Suulola Olatunde Lanre has thrown his weight behind the fact that, after long period of closure of schools, getting teaching/learning process back in motion might not be as easy as we expected.
This was his position while fielding questions from our correspondent today. He said, ” the holiday came as a dream and before we knew it, it took more than fifteen weeks. The closure of schools was occasioned by the outbreak of Corona virus in the world and its importation into our country in February. Having relaxed for such a long period, going back to school to kick-start learning might not be as easy as expected”.
Mr Suulola however alluded to efforts of some stakeholders; governments at various levels, NGOs and religious bodies started teaching through various means such as telegram, WhatsApp, etc which he described as highly challenging in that, some students were unable to access the internet and so on.
He emphasised that upon resumption on July 6, the terminal classes(Primary 6, JSS3 and SSS3) should, without any delay, embark on revisionary journey. He said, ” this will afford them the opportunity to cover areas that were not covered before eventual closure of schools on March 23, 2020″.
While giving insight into the two kinds of curriculum vis-a-vis, teaching and examination curricular, the educationist called for seriousness on the part of the students because this time, exam curriculum will receive huge attention by and from the teachers, as questions will be set using examination curriculum. This becomes imperative consequent on short time for revision and exams.
Accordimg to him, having renewed habit towards learning gives them the opportunity to cover the ‘lost ground’.
He urged the parents to be more supportive in this crucial time, adding that, ” parents need to engage extra hands, give unalloyed motivation, provide necessary educational materials, and feed them with balanced diet for improved performance. Putting these in place, students will pass with ease, discarding all advances of involvement in examination malpractices”.
Mr Suulola equally called on teachers, particularly science teachers to be more methodical and Montessorial in their approach to teaching. As an educationist, he identified punctuality at work, adequate preparation and readiness to work/teach as a must, if academic excellence is our desire!.
He therefore encouraged schools management bodies, particularly, to manage teachers’ efforts with a view to bringing out the best in the students, and to record higher number of passes, despite COVID-19 effects.
“Any human endeavours devoid of prayer is bound to fail, hence, the need for fervent prayers”, he added.
