NIGERIA – Gradely, an edtech startup, has launched its virtual application that will provide real-time data and feedback, in an effort aimed at bridging the gap created by the Covid-19 pandemic in the education sector.

The launch is in line with necessary government education schemes in entrenching and deepening the usage of technology in Nigerian schools.

Speaking at the programme, held in Lagos, the State Commissioner of Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, noted that Covid-19 hastened what they were doing and thinking about as technology created the new normal. She said the state was totally prepared to benefit from it.

“The Virtual Learning Innovation System, which is a digital learning App produced by Gradely Technology Innovation System, is indeed in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s administration which encourages technology to be fused into the education system of the state to achieve smart digital learning,” she said.

“What we do to ensure that we are in line with what regulators want, is that once we develop content; we have an internal review process and then we now submit to an external review process certified by the ministry of education, locally in Lagos state and then the federal government.”

Mr. Boye Oshinuga – Founder and CEO, Gradely

The firm said it would continue to seek collaborations to make the platform an engaging-user experience.

To do this, it will provide the tools, content and people that support the learning process of every student as it is their belief that with more real-time data and feedback on the learning process, teachers and schools will notice each individual’s learning gaps and fill those gaps in more efficient ways.

“Before now we have adopted technology in teaching our pupils in Lagos State through the EkoExcel initiative of the state government, aimed at transforming teaching and learning in all government’s primary schools across the state using innovative technology devices and data driven platforms,”  Adefisayo said.

“That is where the world is going, and as we all know, it is part of the strategy of the present administration to ensure that we use education and technology to improve our welbeing in the state. We must continue to deploy technology to teach and to learn in our classrooms.”

Emphasising on the App, the Founder and CEO, Mr. Boye Oshinuga, said the firm had been able to employ the services of certified educationists to ensure that contents meet necessary quality assessment and standards.

“What we do to ensure that we are in line with what regulators want, is that once we develop content; we have an internal review process and then we now submit to an external review process certified by the ministry of education, locally in Lagos state and then the federal government,” Oshinuga said.

“In our own internal review process, we have a committee of senior teachers in some of the schools that you know look into the content to check for quality assurance and ensure they meet the highest levels obtainable in the society.”

The application Oshinuga said, offers a 30-day trial period, allows for migration of data from another platform, unlimited space restrictions, while users can hold live classes with students and engage them in an interactive feed.

“Also, it uses thousands of curriculum-mapped questions to set homework and exams, with insight from reports and recommended resources to tailor interventions. So, this is what gives us the confidence to go to national and state bodies, present them with the content and seek approval for it.”

The General Secretary, Lagos State National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Alaka-Yusuf Lukman, said, “with the new normal, stakeholders in the education sector must ensure children in the lower class are not neglected in the drive to infuse technology into learning by ensuring that they have access to all these innovations.”

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