First Bank will from next month, partner with state governments and international organisations to provide e-leaning solution, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, has said.
According to him, the bank and its partners are extending their attention to immediate needs in our society in the face of the widespread COVID-19 by putting in place complementary efforts in education to support students and minimize the disruption to education resulting from schools’ closure.
Dr. Adeduntan explained that many parents are concerned about children and wards whose education is truncated by the current crisis and are particularly worried about keeping children at home idle as all schools from primary through to tertiary institutions are closed across the nation. Emphasising the urgent need to ensure that our children are not disadvantaged, remain engaged and stay safe during this period, he announced the Bank has concluded plans with the necessary authorities to enable as many children as possible access e-learning.
Adeduntan said the bank is working with United Nations Global Compact; innovative technology firms such as Robert & John to provide e-learning solution with the government approved curriculum for students across the country. He explained that “FirstBank will support the roll out of Roducate which has been adjudged a best fit solution by educators, teachers and all necessary authorities. This solution has the full curriculum on both the online and offline versions with the offline version of particular interest as it eliminates the challenge posed by data affordability.”
Speaking on the initiative to enable as many children move on to safe e-learning, Dr Adeduntan said “we are warmed by the fact that different organizations have risen to the various challenges and are supporting in areas such as health and welfare, and we feel the peculiar needs of our children and youth must not be left out and have therefore elected to focus on contributing to solving the current education challenge. Education remains the bedrock of any society and we believe that when we educate our children we enable our nation and produce global citizens who provide ground breaking solutions for the continent and the world at large. So, building educational partnerships is an avenue to support our children to remain resourceful and fully engaged at this time so they can compete favourably with their peers internationally. It’s a responsible approach to empower them given that they are our future and the foundation to build our country to greatness. By partnering on this we are solving a problem for families and for our future.”