Ogbonna Casmir
A non-governmental organisation that based in Enugu State, South Saharan Social Development Organisation (SSDO), has distributed over 400 Transistor Radio to secondary schools and technical colleges in Enugu State to commence the Radio School programme in the State.
The NGO which has its primary focus on equipping young men and women with the social, health, economic, educational and political skills needed to survive and compete favourably in a vasty changing and urbanizing sub Saharan Africa, said the programme which commenced Monday in over 400 public secondary schools and technical colleges would be running in Adamawa State.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the handing over the transistor radio sets to principals of secondary schools and technical colleges, the Executive Director, Grace Nwobodo said the ‘Radio School’ is a new approach towards improving Secondary school education where adolescent will be required to listen and learn from model lessons based on the national educational curriculum delivered through radio.
While thanking the Enugu state government for buying into the project and makes it an in-school programme rather than out-of-school programme the project was intended initially, said in the meantime, JSS2 students will be the beneficiaries of this project with four subjects; Mathematics, English, Civic Education & Basic Science to taught on radio.
“Broadcast of Radio School lessons will be on Radio Nigeria AM/Medium wave on 828 Kilohertz and will start at 11:45am”, she said.
Mrs Nwobodo while fielding question from newsmen on what the project is intends to achieve, said Radio School Programme is intend to bridge the yearning gap in our standard of education by bringing good quality teaching so that we have good quality learning outcome.
“Is not a question of somebody finishes school and comes out he cannot speak and write good English. So the teaching is critical because it is what you teach or give to the children that the children would able to utilize and be productive and be useful citizens of this country.
So that gap in education is source of concern, deep concern for South Saharan because we understand that education is single most important instrument if you want to drive development, and if you want to empower people you must have education. So, as a single most important thing, we fill education sector have to be put right, and we must get it right at this point because this is the starting block for the rest of development in this country”, she said.
Handing over the radio sets the principals, the state commissioner for Education, Prof Uche Eze adviced the principals to complement the efforts of the government to ensure that quality of education in Enugu state is improved greatly, stressing that “if you want to get quality education we must lay a fair foundation for our children.
“A child must not move on borrowed garment, 9 credits gotten true examination malpractice can never be seen as a result because many ‘Okada’ riders have 9As’ but they cannot do anything with it and many of them are frustrated.”
The educational commissioner, blaming numerous crimes being committed today to the failure of our schools; “the crime in our society is the failure of our schools when you produce individuals that cannot help themselves they turn into crime and like the saying goes ‘what goes around turns around’.
