Chief Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has said that Nigeria must embrace e-learning for educational development amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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Olanipekun stated this on Thursday during the inauguration of projects and unveiling of new Vice-Chancellor for Ajayi Crowther University(ACU) in Oyo.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Olanipekun is also the Chairman, Governing Council of the University.
At the event, Olanipekun unveiled Prof. Timothy Adebayo as the new VC to succeed Prof. Dapo Asaju by end of October.
Olanipekun said the major lesson from COVID-19 in terms of education was the need to key into e-learning.
He said that embracing e-learning at this period was the only way the nation’s education sector would not take the back seat.
“I think by now, the federal and state government ought to have learnt that COVID-19 has come. We pray that it shall not come to stay. But again, nobody can foretell what tomorrow has in stock.
“Life itself is full of ups and downs. It cannot be rosy all the time. And therefore, it is necessary for the government and the people to always prepare for the rainy day.
“On education, I am pleading with government and the people to always prepare for the future. This is because people like us are beneficiaries of good education in Nigeria. We went to university,” said.
The governing council chairman recalled the efforts of the university at ensuring its students concluded their classes and examinations virtually.
He said that their teachers and students were not on campus, adding they related and interfaced virtually.
“Their papers have been marked. Their results are out. Their certificates have been signed by the Vice-Chancellor. The only inhibition we have now is from government hang-off.
“Are they ready to have them to go for their National Youth Service Corps? No. When you look at the federal and state government universities, they have not been able to conduct any examination.
“They have not been teaching. They have been on vacation. They have left the campuses. There is no relationship between the teachers and the student,” he said.
On his part, Asaju, the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, said the country needed to change its curriculum to raise people who think properly, adding the colonial model of education must go.
“Nigerians must believe in this country. They must have a sense of patriotism. And let us begin to change our curriculum to raise people who can think properly.
“Let us have African thinking, principles, training, morality and see how we can make progress. In the days of our fathers were they not building,” he said.
He also stressed on the need for the country to convene a conference of its brains to produce blueprint on how to fix agriculture, employment, housing and youth empowerment.
“We need to heal the inner man. To heal the inner man, we need people like Awolowo whose books can be read and you will know his ideas.
“Whoever is going to build this country and change it must first of all think out his ideas. Don’t just tell his ideas, tell us his ideology,” he said.