What will happen to Education after COVID-19 – Don reveals

A University Don, Prof. Miriam Amit from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel has revealed what will happen to education after the COVID-19 pandemic. She made her assertion at a virtual world sustainability conference  (WSC) organized by the Green Institute, held on Zoom on November 13, 2020.

                                 

Miriam Amit, a world renowned Professor of ethno-mathematics education, who was the keynote address presenter at the conference with the theme “Repositioning and Transitioning Global Educational Experience beyond COVID-19” asserted that COVID-19 has re-designed the shape of global education and will obviously make all teachers and relevant stake holders to follow the new course. She admitted that the classroom has no choice than to embrace ICT in advancing the course of education if education will thrive well. She further noted that the fore-wall of our classrooms, market places, churches, mosques and even recreational centers were locked up for months and even some countries are into their second phase of lock down and we must not allow this pandemic to ruin education. Hence, for a sustainable education, technology should be made to drive global education, otherwise the educational curriculum will be in jeopardy.

                                         

Prof. Amit further opined that in many locations across the globe as significantly noted during the COVID-19 experience, there is likelihood of some students dropping out of school, loss of job, high cost of educational administration, work pressure to adjust to new administrative style and technological pedagogies. This could definitely bring some discomfort and require structural adjustment if global education is to be well repositioned.

In another development, one of the guest speakers, Dr. Foluke Ishola, an environmental scholar from Goteborg Energi in Sweden lamented the neglect of our educational curriculum to properly address waste management for sustainability. She extensively spoke on the transformative role of education in pioneering sustainable waste management in Sub-Saharan Africa. She disclosed a lot of benefits in proper waste management as readily being utilized by the government of Sweden being championed by Goteborg Energi and other relevant stakeholders in the country. She admonished and recommended that government should enforce environmental cleanliness and proper waste disposal and management for nation’s sustainable development.

  

Meanwhile, in his own lecture on the science and art of education: making education count when it is least counted, Ass. Prof. Taiwo Adenegan from Achievers University, Owo in Nigeria, lamented on the poor attention given to education in Nigeria when it is needed most. He enjoined all relevant stakeholders to formulate useful and achievable educational policies that must be implemented and evaluated by capable human resources. He did not fail to advise political class, elected office holders and relevant stakeholders to look into the budgetary allocations for education to measure up to the global standard if we really want to have a meaningful sustainable development.

  

The conference was attended by notable scholars, secondary school teachers and College students across the globe from Hong Kong, Australia, China, Sweden, Abu Dhabi, USA, Israel, South Africa and Nigeria among others. Dr. David Day of the United Nations was notably present. The presence of Emeritus Prof. Adebayo Sanni, the first Professor of chemical engineering in the black Africa spiced the morale of many of the conference participants.  The conference was coordinated by Dr. Kehinde Emmanuel Adenegan of Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo and supported by Dr. Adenike Akinsemolu, both of the Green Institute as pioneering members.

                                       

The conference enjoined scholars to be motivated to write and present papers for innovation and not just for promotion only to sustain educational growth and development. Educators were advised to collaborate remarkably with other notable scholars around the globe in their fields of endeavor so as not to have localized research and teaching experiences alone.